A Dance of Love!
by Ratchen
Summary: When a new dancer, Liren, joins the Golden Deer and develops a crush on Sylvain, the rest of the Golden Deer vow to help him dance his way into the red-headed knight's heart. mxm pairing!
1. Chapter 1

"Everyone! Give a warm welcome to our newest Golden Deer!" boomed Claude's voice through the Golden Deer common room. The house leader, standing triumphantly on top of a chair, pointed down towards an embarrassed looking boy to his left. The newcomer, about the same height as Ignatz, had honey brown hair that fell into bangs above his pink-colored eyes. These eyes now scanned the room nervously, a pink hue surfacing on his cheeks to match.

"This is Liren! Teach decided to put him in our house since it seemed like Manuela and Hanneman already had their hands full with the other houses. No surprise there...see everyone? I told you we're the most well-behaved class!" Claude continued, a look of pride in his eyes.

"I somehow doubt that's true…" came Lysithea's voice, her own pink eyes landing on Liren's. She offered the new boy a small smile. "Still, I won't deny that our house is pretty great. I'm glad to have a new member."

Liren returned her smile, a bit surprised to see that other students here had the same rare colored eyes as him. "Thank you! You all seem so nice…"

"Before we get any further, are you a crest bearer or not?" asked Lorenz, looking down his nose at the shorter boy. He swiftly received a smack to the back of his head from the pink-haired girl beside him.

"Lorenz! You can't just ask someone that flat out!" Hilda exclaimed, shooting the boy a glare before turning her attention to Liren. "So sorry about that! Lorenz is a special case, but the rest of us have some tact, I promise!"

Liren let out a chuckle and nodded his appreciation to the girl before turning to Lorenz. "Er, I'm not a crest bearer. I'm just a commoner...I hope that's okay."

Before Lorenz could reply, Leonie shoved him to the side, a proud smile on her face. "Of course that's okay! Some of our strongest fighters aren't nobility. There's me, Raphael, and Ignatz!"

The two boys she mentioned nodded their heads in agreement, the buffer of the two stepping forward. "So what's your specialty? You don't look very...um...buff! Are you a mage like Lorenz?"

"Please, a mage would never wear such a revealing outfit," came Lorenz's voice, earning him another smack from Hilda. Liren glanced down at his outfit, realizing it _was_ a bit revealing. He wore a simple, sleeveless, white tunic, trimmed with light pink on the edges to match his eyes that extended down into tight white shorts. A sleeveless white robe with a strip of pink draped lightly over the outfit, leaving his arms and legs completely revealed down to his gladiator sandals. A bit self conscious now, he tried to pull the bottom of the robe closed to hide his legs.

"Er, no, I'm not a mage," Liren responded, the blush returning to his face. "I'm...a dancer. I know it's not the most respectable job, but I hope it'll help you all a bit in battle."

He waited for a moment, expecting to hear Lorenz bash him for being a lowly dancer, but a piercing squeal filled the room.

"A _DANCER?!_" Hilda asked, her face suddenly alight with excitement. She rushed to Liren's side, grabbing him around the waist and squeezing him tightly. "Soooooo cute! I can't believe we finally have a dancer in our class! And even better, I can't believe it's a guy!"

"H-hilda, I think you're scaring him," came a quiet voice from the back of the group.

"Ah, you're right, Marianne! Sorry, sorry. I'm just...so excited!" Hilda exclaimed, releasing her grip on the boy and moving to Marianne's side instead.

"Don't go throwing yourself all over any man you see, Hilda. You'll give off the wrong impression," stated Lorenz, giving the girl a side-eye. Hilda scoffed, giving an equally fierce side-eye in return.

"You're one to talk! Creeping on all the girls all the time!" she shot back. Lorenz's face flushed momentarily before he regained his composure.

"I just don't want Liren to think you're flirting with him. It would be unbecoming of a noble such as yourself to make a commoner like you like that."

"Er, I wouldn't think that anyway! I'm not really...into...girls," Liren interrupted, his eyes scanning nervously for anyone who would dissent.

"Oi, oi, oi!" Claude exclaimed, jumping down from his chair and wrapping his arm around Liren. "Bringing that diversity to the Golden Deer! That's great to know! Now we can tease you about all the cute boys around the monastery."

"Poor Liren, getting thrown into it already…" Lysithea stated, rolling her eyes at their house leader. "You all should at least let him have a day before you start teasing him."

Claude looked down at his fake watch, then back up at the mage. "Isn't it past your bedtime?"

"I'LL KILL YOU!" the white-haired girl exclaimed, raising her hand as if to begin casting a spell.

"Wahhh, Lysithea, calm down!" Hilda stated, running over and trying to lower the girl's arm. "It really is late! We should all probably head to bed. We have training with the professor super early tomorrow, right?"

"That's right! No need to end the life of your poor house leader, Lysithea," Claude responded, a slight smirk on his face. "Let's head to bed for now-gotta be all fresh for teach, y'know?"

For once, everyone seemed to agree with the sentiment, earning Claude some nods. "Alright, see you all tomorrow. Oh, and Liren! Hilda and I will meet you here and walk ya to the practice field in the morning. Sound good?"

Liren nodded with a smile, happy that he'd have people to show him around. "Sounds good! Thanks for the warm welcome, everyone!"

* * *

The sun had just begun its ascent into the sky as Liren stepped outside of the dormitory where he was supposed to meet Claude and Hilda, his sandals crunching on the frosty grass. The boy yawned sleepily and hugged himself, shivering a bit in the crisp morning air. Though his outfit allowed him to move around swiftly, it did nothing for providing him with warmth.

"They don't make warmer dancer outfits?" came Claude's voice as he emerged from the dorm building, Hilda in stride.

"Oh! Good morning you two," Liren stated with a grin, relieved that it was this duo that would be taking care of him. He shuddered to think what would happen if he had been stuck with Lorenz. "They do! But...I know it's gonna get hot while we're practicing."

"With a cutie like you dancing, I'm sure it is!" Hilda exclaimed, bright as ever even though it was so early in the morning. Liren felt his face heat up in embarrassment. Though he was used to performing at this point, it was always scary to perform in front of people for the first time-especially in a combat setting. Claude seemed to sense his anxiety, wrapping his arm around the boy's shoulder and leading him down the path away from the dorms.

"Don't worry! We all know how useful a dancer is. You've got nothing to be nervous about!" Claude stated confidently, trying to calm Liren's nerves.

The trio continued to the training grounds with Hilda and Claude giving Liren a tour of the monastery at the same time. The school was far larger than Liren had originally anticipated and he knew he'd find himself getting lost as soon as he wasn't with his fellow Golden Deer.

"You're up early, Claude! Hilda!" exclaimed a voice belonging to a tall, orange-haired boy walking in the trio's direction. Liren's eyes immediately widened in surprise and he felt his breath catch upon seeing the newcomer. Hilda seemed to notice, staring from Liren to Sylvain, but refrained from commenting.

"Sylvain! It's unlike you to be up and about so early," Claude replied with Hilda letting out a snicker beside him. Sylvain raised an eyebrow.

"I could say the same of you two! Especially you, Hilda. You're not exactly known for your...hard work," he responded, a smirk spreading over his face. Hilda crossed her arms and rolled her eyes, annoyed by the comment.

"I'm plenty hard working! I just know what I'm good at. Anyway, where are you headed? A date? Or are you just heading home from an overnighter?" the pink-haired girl stated, a smirk now crossing her own face. Sylvain stepped back, flustered by the comment.

"N-no! Don't go spreading rumors about me in front of strangers!" Sylvain exclaimed, pointing at Liren. He shook his head as if to clear Hilda's words from his thoughts, then looked to the dancer. "Ah! Are you the new Golden Deer? Li...ren? Liren! Right?"

Liren's pink eyes widened even further, surprised that the red-head already knew his name. He could feel his heart rate increasing as he stared back at the other boy. He hated to admit it, but this Sylvain fellow was so...handsome! To think he'd meet someone that he had a crush on already-it was only his second day.

"Y-yes! That's right! How did you know?" Liren responded, pushing his bangs out of his face and doing his best to play it cool. Sylvain smiled and let out a small sigh.

"Pro-tip number one of the monastery: word spreads quickly!" he stated, giving an accusatory glance to Claude and Hilda. "In any case, nice to meet ya! I'm Sylvain and I'm in the Blue Lions."

Sylvain gave Liren a once over before making their eyes meet once more. "Let me guess...you're a dancer!"

Hilda suddenly burst out in excitement, riled up by the mention of a dancer yet again. She grabbed Liren's arm, squeezing it. "He is! Isn't he so cute?!"

Sylvain seemed taken aback by the outburst, but let out a laugh and nodded his agreement. "Very."

Liren's heart skipped a beat upon hearing the comment and he was sure Hilda could feel his heart racing through his arm. Claude smirked, seemingly amused by the spectacle in front of him.

"I hate to be the responsible one...I really do, but we gotta get to practice or teach will end us," he stated. Sylvain nodded his understanding and began walking back towards the dormitories.

"Have fun out there! Nice to meet ya, Liren! Don't let Claude and Hilda corrupt you too quickly," he stated, giving the three a wave goodbye.

A nervous chuckle and a wave was all that Liren could muster in response. For a dancer, he was so awkward. As the trio turned and began to walk towards the field once more, Liren could feel Hilda's eyes boring into him from his side. He did his best to pretend not to see it, knowing that the girl was onto him, but Hilda would not let herself be ignored.

"Sooooooo…." she began, peering over with a devious smile on her face.

"Uh-oh, that's never a good opener from Hilda," Claude stated, raising his eyebrows in anticipation for the coming question.

"What'd you think of Sylvain?" the pink-haired girl asked innocently, though the devious smile remained in plain sight. Liren did his best to keep from blushing, his pink eyes meeting Hilda's own.

"He's...nice!" Liren responded, afraid to say anymore in case the girl jumped on it. It seemed he didn't need to say anything else as the girl burst out anyway.

"You think he's cute, don't you?! I have an eye for these things!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands together forcefully. Claude gave Liren a look of pity, but refrained from stepping in, happy to remain as an observer.

"I mean, he's not _not _cute," Liren replied, trying to stay as neutral as possible. Hilda narrowed her eyes, unsatisfied with the answer, but then folded her arms and closed her eyes.

"Fine, fine. I won't pressure you, but just so y'know, I can totally hook you up with him!" she stated, opening one eye to glance at the dancer with a sly smile. Claude let out a burst of laughter, endlessly amused by the conversation.

"Wait, wait. Is Sylvain not straight?" he asked, still laughing and looking to Hilda with confusion. The girl brought her hand to her chin, thinking for a moment.

"Mmm, well...it was never _confirmed_ that he's straight, right? And I'm pretty sure he and Felix have a thing," she replied, causing Claude to burst into even more laughter.

"Felix? So he already has someone?!" Liren exclaimed suddenly, causing Hilda to jump in surprise. A grin spread across her face and Liren immediately regretted asking.

"Ah-ha! So you _do_ like him! I knew it!" she replied, clearly pleased with herself. "Don't worry, it's nothing official."

She turned to Claude, a scheming look in both of their eyes that made Liren shiver. "You know what this means, right?"

Claude nodded, an excited look on his own face as they high-fived and simultaneously burst out, "A new mission for the Golden Deer!"


	2. Chapter 2

"Ugh, I can't believe Byleth didn't let me sit out today! I really do have a headache!" Hilda complained as the class exited the training ground together. From the looks the other Deer were giving her, Liren assumed this was a typical occurrence.

"If I had a gold piece for every time you have a 'headache,' I'd be a noble by now," Leonie stated, earning her a glare from the pink-haired girl. "Besides, you're good with an axe, I don't get why you hate practicing so much."

"The amount of gold you have is not the only factor in determining whether one can be a noble, Leonie," started Lorenz, but Claude interrupted, attempting to diffuse the argument before it could begin.

"Hey now, hey now! Yes, practice is important, but let's focus on what really matters here. We've got a D.I.N.!" he stated.

"D.I.N…?" asked Marianne softly, a confused look mixing with her typical worried expression.

"Deer In Need!" exclaimed Claude, causing Hilda and Lysithia to break out into laughter. Claude shot them a glare. "What! Don't act like you guys didn't know that!"

"It just sounds so lame when you say it…" Lysithia replied, recomposing herself and running a hand through her white hair.

"As usual, you wound me," Claude replied with a frown. He turned towards Liren. "_Anyway,_ the deer in need is none other than our newbie, Liren!"

Liren's eyes widened as he realized what this was all about. "Wha?! N-no! I don't need help with anything! What are you talking about, Claude?!"

"A problem for one of us is a problem for all of us! We share everything anyway, we're a big family. There's no need to be embarrassed, it's the Golden Deer way!"

"Mm, that's right, that's right!" Hilda chimed in, all too eagerly. "While we were on our way to practice this morning, the three of us ran into Sylvain!"

"Oh…I can already see where this is going," stated Ignatz, giving the dancer a look of pity. Claude gave the archer a thumbs up and enthusiastic wink.

"That's our bookworm for ya. Yes, in case the rest of you haven't caught on, Liren was smitten," the house leader exclaimed. Liren wanted to crawl into a hole and never come out, embarrassed to death.

"I'm not smitten! I just thought he was cute!" Liren shot back in an attempt to defend himself.

"Aww, so cute!" Lysithea exclaimed to Liren's surprise, bringing her hands to her cheeks. "He's not the brightest of the bunch, but maybe you could whip him into shape!"

"Sylvain...there are so many things wrong with that. For starters, he's a known playboy, so that should already be enough of a barrier, but if you need more, he's also a noble. It could never happen!" Lorenz exclaimed, strangely passionate about the topic.

"Yeah, yeah, we all know you have your stupid 'playboy' rivalry, but don't try to ruin Sylvain for Liren!" Hilda shot back, her expression daring Lorenz to retort.

"U-um, I'm actually meeting Sylvain this afternoon for tea. He invited me and...I'd rather not go alone...do you want to come, Liren?" Marianne asked, before Lorenz could escalate a fight with Hilda. Claude pumped his arm into the air then patted the blue-haired girl on the back.

"Wowow! That's our Marianne for ya. Full of surprises!" he exclaimed, a genuinely proud look on his face. "This is the perfect opportunity. Marianne can be your wingwoman!"

"Wing...woman…?" Marianne asked, her tired eyes widening slightly.

"Ah, don't worry about that, Marianne! Just try to make sure that things go smoothly," Hilda exclaimed with a chuckle.

"I can't believe my secret got exposed so quickly…Sylvain was right, word really does spread quickly here," Liren stated, his face still red. "But now that the cat's out of the bag, I guess I might as well go for it! Let's meet outside the dorms this afternoon, Marianne?"

The blue-haired girl nodded her agreement. "I'll meet you there…!"

"Wow, I honestly wish we had a way to watch this go down in real time," Claude stated disappointedly. "This is the meeting of a lifetime!"

"I hate to agree with him, but it's kinda true. We'll be expecting a full report, Marianne!" Lysithea chimed in, nodding at the cleric.

"Oh...um...okay, I'll do my best," Marianne responded, earning a cheer from Claude and Hilda.


	3. Chapter 3

Liren stared down at his clothing as he waited for Marianne outside the dorms, Lorenz's earlier comment ringing through his head. His normal outfit had gotten dirty from practice, so he had changed, yet most of his clothing was quite...scant. The outfit he wore now was little more than a toga, revealing part of his chest and only dropping halfway down his thighs. He had tried to spice it up by adding golden bangles to his arms and a circlet made of iron leaves atop his head, but he still felt quite self-conscious.

"Oh...Liren...did I keep you waiting?" Marianne asked, pulling the boy from his thoughts as she approached. Liren tucked the thoughts away and put on a smile for the girl, shaking his head.

"Nope! I just got here!" he exclaimed, taking note of Marianne's beautiful blue dress. "Wow, you look like a princess! I'm jealous!"

"W-wha? No...I just...I thought I would try to look nice for our tea time," she fumbled, her pale face turning red.

"And you do! Where are we meeting, anyway?" the boy asked, unsure of where tea parties took place on campus.

"Ah, the tea house is just outside of the front gate," Marianne stated, a hint of a smile on her face. "Shall we get going...? It shouldn't take too long…"

Liren nodded his head happily, pleased that Marianne didn't seem _too_ afraid of him. Honestly, he had no idea how this meeting would go. The cleric was clearly cripplingly shy and when it came to his crushes, Liren tended to clam up as well. He hoped it wouldn't be Sylvain doing all the talking as the two of them awkwardly sat there.

"So...h-how can I...help with the plan? Or...what did Claude say? Wing...woman…?" Marianne suddenly asked as they began to walk towards their destination. Liren looked over at the girl, a bit taken aback that she was taking this "mission" seriously. He let out a nervous chuckle and rubbed the back of his head, a bit embarrassed by it all.

"Oh, don't worry about that! You can just be yourself. After all, you're the one he asked to tea! I'm just glad I'll be there with you!" Liren replied, genuinely. If it had just been him and Sylvain, he knew his awkwardness would amplify at least tenfold.

As the pair walked towards the tea house, Liren was happy to have a peaceful moment. He loved Claude and Hilda, but their energy level left him quite exhausted after spending too much time together. Marianne, on the other hand, had a serene quiet to her and even when there was silence, it wasn't too awkward. Additionally, she seemed to know the names of almost all of the types of birds that they passed. Liren had always loved animals and it seemed like the two shared that trait, bringing Marianne much joy. Just as she was telling him of her favorite horse, Dorte, at the stable, the pair arrived at their destination. Sylvain stood at the entrance, cocking his head to the side as he caught sight of them.

"Oiii, Marianne! If you had brought anyone else, you would've damaged my fragile heart. This was meant to be quality time for us, y'know? How else am I supposed to understand what's going on in that mysterious, brooding heart of yours?" Sylvain exclaimed, dramatically bringing the back of his hand to his forehead. Liren immediately felt a wave of guilt, realizing he was crashing what Sylvain had likely intended to be a date. It seemed Hilda had been wrong, the knight _was _straight...or at least probably.

"Oh no! I didn't know it was a date! I actually have some errands to do anyway! I can leave the two of you alone!" Liren rambled, his face flushing as he turned to run off.

"No!" he heard both of his friends exclaim. Sylvain glanced at Marianne, surprised to hear her strong objection, but then turned back to Liren.

"I saaaaid if she had brought anyone _else_, I would've been hurt, but I'm interested to know more about you, dancer boy," Sylvain stated, before beckoning towards the cleric. "And it seems like she'd rather have you here as well, so ya can't say no to that!"

Marianne nodded her agreement and Liren reluctantly agreed to stay. The trio entered the tea house, the scent of spices floating past their noses, and chose a small, round table to sit at. Sylvain ordered a pot of Bergamot tea for the group then turned his attention to Liren.

"So you had an outfit change, huh? I like your...leaf….crown….thing," he stated, pointing to the ornament atop Liren's head. Even from a single compliment, the dancer could feel his mood soar and his heart rate increase. It honestly felt a bit pathetic that his mood could be so influenced by a cute guy.

"Oh, thanks! I like your…" Liren paused. _Face,_ he wanted to say, yet he held his tongue looking for something else to compliment. "Hair…?"

Sylvain raised an eyebrow, clearly confused by the questioning tone of Liren's compliment. Liren hesitated-he hadn't meant for it to come out that way!

"It's very...orange!" he added perkily, resisting the urge to facepalm from the awkwardness. Sylvain let out a laugh, patting himself on the head.

"That it is, that it is," he replied, before pouring tea for all three of them. "So how did you come to join the academy?"

"Oh...I also am interested in hearing this…" Marianne chimed in quietly. Liren felt guilty that he had almost forgot that the girl was there-she was so quiet. He'd make more of an effort to not just look at Sylvain.

"Me? Umm..well I'm just a commoner. It's a pretty typical story! I lost my parents when I was super young, but my older sister took care of me. She joined a performance troupe to make money for us and they pretty much became our family!" Liren explained, tapping his chin as he recalled his own story. "After that, we travelled around with them for as long as I can remember and that's how I learned how to dance. My sister wanted me to have an actual education, though, so she insisted that I apply to the academy. I'm still surprised that I got in…"

Sylvain and Marianne both wore expressions of surprise, seemingly impressed by the boy's tale.

"There's nothing 'typical' about that upbringing at all! Travelling around with a dance troupe...I'm so jealous! I've just been stuck with stuffy nobles my whole life, and I'm sure it's been the same for Marianne as well," Sylvain stated with Marianne nodding her agreement.

"That is quite an amazing story…" the cleric agreed as she picked her tea up to take a sip. Just as the liquid touched her lip, the girl jumped in surprise with a quiet squeal.

"Ow, ow! Hot…" she exclaimed, trying to regain control of her cup. Unfortunately, her prior jolt had already hurtled a wave of the scalding liquid in the dancer's direction. The burning tea made full contact with the boy's exposed leg, causing him to jump up in pain, and in turn, flip the small table. Sylvain and Marianne watched in horror as the expensive looking teapot and cups shattered on the tea house's stone floor, while Liren attempted to wipe the hot tea from his leg.

"I-I'm so sorry! Oh no...oh no…" Marianne exclaimed, completely flustered by the situation. Sylvain brought his hand to his forehead, shaking his head in dismay, but with a smile upon his face.

"Only the Golden Deer…" he stated before returning the table to its upright position and apologizing profusely to the staff. The old lady running the shop was still quite displeased, ordering the trio to leave and berating Sylvain until he was out the door. As the door slammed shut behind them, Liren and Marianne turned to Sylvain, their faces full of guilt.

"I'm so sorry! I knew I shouldn't have come!" Liren exclaimed, bowing his head to beg forgiveness from the Blue Lion. Marianne immediately joined in, clasping her hands together in front of her.

"I-it was my fault...I'm so sorry, I've ruined everything…!"

"Woah woah woah, you two are intense! Calm down, calm down. We don't need to throw a despair party-everything's fine," Sylvain exclaimed, glancing from the dancer to the cleric. "I've gotten much worse verbal lashings from most of my dates!"

Liren brought his head back up, staring at Sylvain, his pink eyes twinkling with admiration. Was this man a saint? As if to answer his question, the orange-haired knight knelt down in front of him, staring at the dancer's upper thigh.

_Eh? _Liren thought to himself, taking half a step back in embarrassment. _What's he doing? This outfit really was too provocative!_

Sylvain pointed at the spot he was inspecting. "Looks like you got a pretty serious burn. Let's head back and get some salve for it. And before you start apologizing, I'm sure Liren forgives you, Marianne. Right, Liren?"

Liren nodded at the blue-haired girl and gave her a smile to let her know it truly was okay. To his surprise, the next words out of the cleric's mouth were not an apology, but something far more unexpected.

"Um...if it hurts to walk, maybe...Sylvain can carry you on his back…?" the girl asked quietly, looking from Liren to Sylvain.

"EH?!" Liren exclaimed, almost falling over in shock from the suggestion. It was the type of idea he'd expect from Hilda, not the quiet healer. Had she really not forgotten about her role as a wingwoman?!

"N-no! What? No! It's just a burn, it's not like I broke it or anything!" Liren retorted, his face completely flushed.

"I don't mind, it'll be good exercise," Sylvain stated, kneeling down and signaling for the boy to climb on. "Besides, don't dancers really need their legs? Can't be too careful!"

Liren couldn't believe the knight was going along with the idea. He opened his mouth to protest further, but realized that his flustered objections might look even more suspicious. With a defeated sigh, he climbed on to Sylvain's back, wrapping his arms around the boy's neck. Out of the corner of his eye, he swore he could see a slight smile flash over Marianne's face.

"Alright, alright," Liren conceded as Sylvain lifted him into the air and wrapped his arms tightly around the shorter boy's legs. "But just till the gate!"

The dancer could only imagine the infinite joy his housemates would receive upon hearing this story. It was only his second day and already so much had happened. As he smelled the scent of shampoo drifting from Sylvain's hair, Liren had to admit, Marianne's plan wasn't half bad.


	4. Chapter 4

"He _WHAT_?!" Hilda and Lysithea exclaimed in unison, their pink eyes wide as full moons. The Deer had just gathered in the common room for their nightly rendezvous, and of course the hot topic was the outcome of the Sylvain operation.

"He carried me back from the tea shop…" Liren repeated, embarrassed at all the attention being showered on him.

"Oh my gosh, just get married already!" the pink-haired noble exclaimed, with Lysithea nodding her firm agreement. For such a studious and strict person, Lysithea was way more into relationship gossip than Liren would have expected.

"Wow, I gotta admit, getting him to carry you on your first official meetup...that's pretty impressive," Leonie chimed in. "You must be pretty talented at flirting, but I guess that's to be expected of a dancer."

Liren shook his head then pointed to Marianne, who was sitting quietly in the corner. "It was all Marianne's doing! She's the one who suggested it!"

"Marianne, you sly dog! You're way craftier than you let on, huh?" Claude exclaimed, applauding the girl's efforts. "Did you also spill tea on him on purpose? It was all part of your master plan, wasn't it?!"

"W-wha?! No, I would never….that wasn't on purpose at all!" Marianne replied in a fluster, giving Liren an apologetic look. The dancer gave her a smile to let her know he didn't hold it against her. Besides, it hardly hurt now that they had bandaged it all up.

"Pleaaaase tell me you took advantage of that situation to flirt with him," Hilda pleaded, turning the attention back to the dancer. "Did you grab his arm? Or rest your head on his shoulder? Or give him a kiss?!"

The girl burst into a fit of giggles, seemingly amused by her own extra-ness. Liren felt his face heat up in embarrassment as usual, though he figured he should probably get used to Hilda's antics for his own sake.

"No! I didn't do any of that! I just thanked him once we got to the gates and then Marianne and I ran off!"

"Hmm, not that I know much about this type of thing, but if you had such a prime opportunity, you should've made the most of it!" Ignatz suddenly chimed in from beside Raphael.

"Wha...Ignatz! Not you too," Liren moaned, shocked that everyone was taking this so seriously. Speaking of which, he was quite surprised that Lorenz hadn't added his two cents yet. As if on cue, the purple-haired noble stepped forward, swiping his hand in front of him as if to silence everyone.

"Don't be foolish, you all. Liren handled the situation appropriately," the noble began, earning him a surprised look from the dancer. Was Lorenz actually defending him?

"Sylvain was just acting the way a noble should and helping an injured commoner. After all, it is our duty to look after our people. I'm sure any of you would have done the same," he continued. "Now cease with your facetious ideas!"

The room remained silent for a moment following the boy's speech, until Lysithea cut in.

"Oh Lorenz, the sooner you drop your better-than-thou act and join in, the sooner you'll start having fun," she stated, shaking her head in disapproval. "Besides, don't you have an even _more_ taboo love interest?"

"I have no idea what you're speaking of, but I implore you to refrain from spreading rumors," Lorenz shot back, his eyes narrowing at his fellow mage. Lysithea returned the glare, a wicked smile crossing her face.

"I've totally seen you and a certain...adult...person reading your poetry together at night. To think you're interested in Manu-"

"CEASE," Lorenz exclaimed, his face turning bright red. Hilda stepped between the two, bringing her hands together with a smile.

"Now, now, normally I'd be all for making fun of Lorenz, but let's not destroy his whole image in front of the class," she stated, showing mercy for the purple-haired boy. "Besides, we need to think of the next step for our mission!"

"Hmmm…" Claude began, bringing his hand to his chin in thought. "I actually have an idea."

"No surprise there," Lysithea replied, rolling her eyes.

"You know that sauna that's off limits? I've been meaning to try to sneak in and check it out. It's not fair that the staff keep it all for themselves!" Claude exclaimed, turning to Liren. "You can come with me! And I'll invite Sylvain, too. I'm sure he'll say yes."

"Nothing makes people closer than criminal activity," Leonie stated, shaking her head disapprovingly. Hilda pondered the idea for a moment before agreeing with Claude.

"It's not _thaaat_ bad," she stated, trying to ease Leonie's concerns. "Besides, if it's a sauna, Liren will get to see Sylvain _shirtless_!"

The girl added spirit fingers to the last word to emphasize just how important this chance was, causing Lysithea to let out a giggle.

"Ohh, that's true! Actually, he might even see him completely naked…." the mage added, her face instantly flushing at the thought, along with Liren's.

"You guys! So embarrassing...and I'm only on my second day! I can't be deemed a criminal already," the dancer protested. In all honesty, he had been quite the goody two shoes for most of his life and the idea of breaking a rule really did scare him.

"You won't get in trouble because you won't get caught. Not with one of my schemes!" Claude countered, pointing to himself proudly.

"It's true. He might be a goof, but his plans are pretty foolproof," Hilda added, nodding her head in confidence. Claude gave her a thumbs up and wink before turning back to Liren.

"Then it's settled! Let's plan on doing this two nights from now. There'll be a choir performance in the chapel, so the guard around the sauna should be lessened."

"But I-" Liren began, before getting cut off by Hilda.

"Shiiiirtlesssss," she stated, wiggling her spirit fingers in the dancer's face.


	5. Chapter 5

"And where do you think _you're_ going?" rang Ingrid's voice through the empty hallway of the dormitory. Sylvain froze in place, his eyes narrowing in annoyance. Out of all people, it had to be Ingrid who had stayed back from the choir concert. The red-headed boy turned around to greet his housemate, pasting a smile on his face.

"I have plans, if that's okay with you, Ingrid," he replied, a bit too sweetly. "Don't worry about me! Honestly, you should be worried about yourself and that plague that you've got. Want me to grab you some soup on my way back?"

"One: it's not a _plague_. Dmitri must have passed on his cold to me while we were doing extra training. Two: how can you have plans when we're all supposed to be at the choir concert right now?"

Sylvain's eyes narrowed momentarily in annoyance at the girl's interrogation, but he quickly reverted back to his charm. "If you have to know, I'm going to spend time with the new kid in the Golden Deer. Hope that's okay with you, mom. And ohhh, 'extra training', huh? Sounds steamy!"

Ingrid's face flushed at the last part of the statement and she folded her arms defiantly. "W-what are you implying?! Whatever! Just get out of here!"

Sylvain gave her a salute, then turned back around and headed for the exit, a pleased smirk on his face. Too easy. He hadn't even needed to lie about where he was headed! Speaking of which, he wasn't entirely sure why Claude had invited him in the first place. Sure, they were friends, but the Deer leader certainly had closer friends that he could have invited on this sauna espionage mission.

The knight's mind wandered to Liren for a moment. First with Marianne at tea and now again with Claude? Many of his fellow Blue Lions had yet to meet the dancer even once, yet this would already be his second meetup with the new student-third, if you counted the first run-in with the boy. Sylvain was no stranger to flirting and he knew the most important aspect of it was to spend as much time with your target as possible. The idea flickered through his head momentarily, but he shook the thought, chalking it up to the Deer simply inviting Liren to everything because he was new.

"Well, Liren's nice enough. And it's definitely better than if Claude and I were going to the sauna alone," Sylvain said to himself as he reached the dormitory door. He pulled it open and peered outside, making sure no guards were patrolling, then stepped out into the night air. Fortunately, the sauna sat atop an elevated area directly next to the dormitories, so sneaking up to it was simple enough.

"Ah, you made it!" Claude said with a grin, Liren a few steps behind him as Sylvain crested the final step. "I was beginning to worry you were standing us up."

"Sorry, sorry," Sylvain replied, rubbing the back of his head with an apologetic smile. "Ingrid stayed back since she's sick and caught me sneaking out…"

"Ahh, say no more," Claude answered, having got in trouble with Ingrid more than once himself. He turned to Liren then pulled the boy up next to him, pointing at him excitedly. "You remember Liren, right?"

The dancer gave him a quick smile before averting his eyes. Sylvain had never been the best with shy people, but he returned the smile in hopes that it would lessen the new student's nerves.

"Of course! How could I forget the most eventful teatime of my life?" the knight responded with a chuckle. He pointed at Liren's leg. "Is your burn all better now?"

The dancer glanced down at his thigh where the bandages had been the day before. "It's better now! Thanks again for carrying me. I can't believe Marianne suggested that…"

"No worries! It was good exercise. Y'know knights have to be strong and all that," Sylvain replied with a grin. Liren looked like he was going to reply, but Claude stepped in first.

"Alright, we get it, you both enjoyed your romantic piggyback ride. Can we get in the sauna before we get caught? You can chat all you want in there," the tanned boy stated. Liren's face flushed as usual and Sylvain had to wonder how a dancer could be so bashful.

He shrugged before signaling to Claude. "Lead the way, mastermind."

"Lucky for you two, I did some surveillance earlier in the day," the archer stated, leading the pair around to the side of the building. He pointed up at a window on the second floor that was cracked open ever so slightly. "That's our way in."

Liren glanced up at the window, then back at Claude. "That's...so high. How are we supposed to get up there?"

Sylvain's eyes narrowed skeptically as Claude suddenly pulled his bow from beneath his cape. What kind of half-baked plan had the Deer come up with? After a moment, the archer pulled another object from beneath his cape-an arrow, except instead of a pointed head, the tip fountained into multiple hooks. A long rope attached to the bottom of it and uncoiled from Claude's hand.

"Errrr...what is that?" Sylvain asked apprehensively, staring at the object. Claude clutched the item defensively, as if Sylvain's judgement had hurt it.

"It's a hookshot of sorts. I threw it together a few months ago, just in case," he shot back. With anyone else, Sylvain would have questioned why there would be need for such an item, but it made sense with Claude.

"You're gonna shoot that up there and then we're supposed to climb all the way up?" Liren asked, his pink-eyes scanning the distance from the ground to the window once more. The dancer pointed to his thin arm. "I'm not very strong, if you couldn't tell."

"It's fiiiiine. It shouldn't be that hard," Claude assured his housemate as he hitched the hookshot into his bow. He squinted for a moment, lining up the shot, then loosed the object through the air with impressive accuracy, the rope flying wildly behind it. It flew threw the window and stopped with a _thunk_ before clattering to the stone floor. Claude pulled on the rope to make sure the hooks would catch on the windowsill, then admired his work with a proud grin.

"Okay, I'll admit, that's a pretty cool invention," Sylvain stated, impressed by Claude's ingenuity. "But, since you're its creator, it only makes sense that you test it out. So up ya go!"

Claude hesitated for a moment, glancing at the rope in his hand anxiously. "Actually, I was thinking Liren could go first. That way we can catch him if he falls!"

Sylvain looked at the dancer who already seemed resigned to his fate as the scapegoat. _Ah, I really gotta teach this kid how to defend himself some day,_ he thought to himself.

"Ah ah ah, I'll go up behind Liren to make sure he's okay, but _you_ go first. You're a house leader after all! Set the example!" Sylvain retorted, earning him a thankful look from Liren. Claude narrowed his eyes at Sylvain, but didn't retort, not wanting to damage the credibility of his hookshot.

"Fine! I'll show you how to do it then. I've been taking climbing lessons from Petra," he stated, grabbing the rope and pulling himself off the ground. Sylvain and Liren watched as the archer struggled up the wiggly rope, somehow making it to the top and managing to throw himself through the windowsill.

"Wow, he actually did it…" Liren voiced in disbelief from beside Sylvain. The knight glanced down at the shorter boy, a slight smile crossing his face. Liren seemed so out of place in a sketchy activity like this, he wondered what had possessed the dancer to come along. Was Claude really that convincing?

"Welp, it's your turn, dancer boy. Don't worry, I'll catch ya if you fall. But try not to fall from too high or you'll be the one carrying me on your back this time," Sylvain exclaimed with a laugh, trying to ease the boy's obvious nerves. Liren glanced up at him with a smile, before his expression suddenly changed to one of complete determination. The knight was a bit taken aback by the instant switch in attitude, not used to seeing the shorter boy with so much resolve.

"I've got this!" Liren exclaimed as if he had something to prove, grabbing the rope and hoisting himself off the ground as his robes fluttered around him. To everyone's surprise, the dancer's ascent was far smoother than Claude's and in just a few moments, he was inside the building.

Sylvain peered up at the window and saw Claude say something that caused the dancer to cover his face in embarrassment. Poor Liren-only on his first week and already getting tormented by Claude's jokes.

"Alright, I'm coming up!" Sylvain called to the pair as he grabbed the rope. He didn't mean to toot his own horn, but after constantly wearing heavy armor and working out in his free time, the rope climb was a simple activity. Indeed, in just a few seconds, the cavalier had neared the top of the rope, earning him a wide-eyed gaze from Liren and Claude.

_Crackkk_. The sound of splintering wood filled the air as Sylvain hoisted himself within arm's reach of the sill.

"Umm, what was that?" he asked, glancing up at Claude, who was glancing down at the windowsill with concern.

"Dammit Sylvain, your muscles are too heavy. Stop working out so much!" Claude responded, pointing at the window sill. "And hurry up before it-"

Before the archer could finish his sentence, the wood of the windowsill splintered into pieces, releasing the hookshot's grip.

"Oh shi-" Sylvain exclaimed, feeling himself begin to fall back towards the ground. All at once, though, the tension returned to the rope and his falling ceased. He glanced upwards and saw that Liren had grabbed the end of the line just as it had slid over the window sill and was struggling to hold it up-half of his torso stuck over the edge of the window.

"Guh…!" the dancer exclaimed, straining to maintain his grip and keep from falling out of the window after Sylvain. Claude finally reacted a moment later, grabbing onto the rope as well, and the pair were able to hoist the knight over the edge. Sylvain landed with a thud atop the dancer, chest to chest, as the trio stumbled to the ground. He could feel the brown-haired boy breathing heavily beneath him from the exertion of hoisting him over the ledge.

Before Sylvain could push himself off of the dancer, he unintentionally locked eyes with the boy beneath him, Liren's pink-eyes widening into full-moon orbs as he realized the position they were in. Their faces were but a few inches apart and Sylvain could basically feel the heat radiating from the shorter boy's face. For a split second, he was shocked to feel his own heart rate speed up. Before he could put any thought into it, the dancer instantly looked to the side, breaking the eye contact as his face flushed. Not wanting to make the boy more uncomfortable, Sylvain hoisted himself back to his feet, then helped pull the dancer up as well.

"Whew, you saved me! You legit could've fallen out of the window, but you still went for it," Sylvain exclaimed, admiration in his eyes as he scanned the dancer up and down. Liren, face still red, managed to crack a smile.

"It was just instinct! And I had to repay you for when you carried me. We're even now, right?" Liren asked, trying to brush the dust off of his white robe. Sylvain gave him a thumbs up. Honestly, he was extremely impressed by the selfless act-the dancer must've known that Sylvain was heavier than him and would risk pulling him out of the window as well, but he still risked it.

"Er...well, not exactly how I planned it, but it all worked out," Claude interrupted, pulling the rest of the rope up from the window. He pointed at the splintered wood. "And just to point out, it wasn't _my_ hookshot that went wrong, it was the window! So I'm not taking the blame for this."

Both of the other boys shot him a glare, but Claude ignored it, turning on his heel and leading the way through the building. The archer chattered to Liren as they continued through the various rooms towards the sauna, but Sylvain was lost in thought. As he walked behind the dancer, his mind wandered back to the moment his heart had raced. What the hell? He'd been on so many dates at this point that he had assumed he was all but immune to heart flutters. He gazed at the dancer's back, the white robe swishing lightly back and forth to occasionally expose his pale legs. Sylvain's eyebrows furrowed for a moment, troubled by the possibility that he might actually be feeling something. All of a sudden, the dancer glanced behind him, almost causing Sylvain to jump in surprise. He managed to hold it together, but his heart was certainly racing now, having almost been caught out.

Claude continued whatever speech he was giving even as Liren glanced back at the knight. Not interrupting his house leader, Liren simply gave the red-haired boy a smile before turning back to face forward. Sylvain's mind instantly flew in fifty directions: Had there been some hidden meaning behind that smile? Was he trying to flirt? No, maybe he was just being friendly. Maybe he hadn't even been looking at the knight. Did the dancer like him? His smile was kinda cute...

_Crap. _Sylvain knew this sensation, though he hadn't felt it in a long time. The beginning of catching feelings.


	6. Chapter 6

Liren's mind was still ablaze with adrenaline from Sylvain falling on him as he followed behind Claude, not taking in a word his house leader was saying. At this point, it really did seem like fate was trying to bring him and Sylvain together. Their faces had been all but two inches apart-if Liren had shifted even a bit, their lips would have met. The dancer's face flushed at the thought, but he couldn't help but feel a bit of regret for having looked away so soon. Why was he always so shy? He resolved that he would try to be less bashful from this point on and decided to start it off by giving the knight a smile to smooth things over.

Liren turned his head to look back at the red-haired boy behind him, only to find Sylvain seemingly staring at his legs. The knight immediately looked up and Liren chalked it up to the boy also being lost in thought. He mustered up his courage and gave the Lion a smile, intending to show that there was no awkwardness between them. He was a bit surprised when Sylvain didn't return the smile, the knight's eyebrows furrowing in what almost seemed like a moment of bashfulness. Liren turned back towards Claude, confused. Sylvain? Embarrassed? That had been the last reaction he would've expected from the flirtatious knight. Still, he was proud of himself for executing the maneuver and not even blushing! His victory moment was short-lived as Claude's voice pulled him from his thoughts.

"Oi, oi, oi! Am I talking to myself here?!" the house leader said in annoyance, glancing back at the pair behind him. Liren immediately snapped to attention, realizing he hadn't heard a word Claude had been saying this entire time.

"Er, no! We're listening!" he exclaimed, trying to cover for himself. He conjectured a guess at random. "You were talking about bows..."

Claude narrowed his eyes at the younger boy, annoyed that he had guessed correctly, but decided to let it slide. As he pushed open the door to the next room, Liren's jaw dropped open in awe at the giant bath that took up the span of the large room.

"That's...the biggest bath I've ever seen," he stated in shock, glancing around nervously to make sure no one else was in the building with them. A smile lit up Claude's face, clearly proud that he had managed to impress the dancer. He grabbed the boy's wrist and pulled him into the room, Sylvain following behind and closing the door behind him.

The heat from the baths wafted upwards, immediately putting the dancer more at ease. He had loved baths as a kid, but they had always been a special treat during his time with the performance troop. Most times, he'd simply bathe in a river or whatever natural source of water they could find. To think that such a luxurious bath was sitting here for his use whenever he wanted...this school was amazing.

"You look like you've never seen a bath before," Sylvain stated, reading the expression on Liren's face.

"I've seen a bath! It's just...going to a bathhouse was always a special event while I was growing up," Liren stated, becoming acutely aware that he was the only commoner in the trio. He glanced at the ground in shame, knowing he would come off as a country bumpkin to the nobles. "I'm sure it's nothing special to you two, but it's pretty amazing to see something like this here!"

"Hey, just because we're 'nobles', doesn't mean we're all from wealthy backgrounds," Claude shot back, crossing his arms defiantly. "I traveled around a lot while I was growing up too, so I know all about bathing in ponds and such. Don't think you're all special!"

Liren smiled up at his house leader, knowing the archer was trying to make him feel less self-conscious. Sylvain glanced at the two then pouted his lip. "Not fair. I wanna try taking a bath in nature sometime. Maybe I should suggest it to the Lions….we could all go! Seeing Dmitri and Ingrid try to take a bath outdoors would be hilarious!"

"As long as you don't tell them you got the idea from me," Claude replied, knowing the wrath he would suffer. He turned his attention back to the bath in front of them, pointing at it sharply. "Alright boys, everyone in!"

Liren's heart skipped a beat as he realized the moment was finally upon them. He could see Hilda's spirit fingers vividly in his memory. Glancing at the boys to either side of him, he saw that both of them had already started to disrobe. He couldn't help his eyes from falling to Sylvain's bare torso as the knight pulled his shirt above his head. It took every ounce of self-control to stifle a gasp upon seeing the chiseled abs and muscular chest. He quickly averted his eyes, his face instantly turning a deep red, embarrassed by his own actions. Why was he acting like a fangirl?!

Claude, now also shirtless, grinned in amusement, feeding on the shorter boy's embarrassment. "What are ya doing, Liren? You're gonna go in wearing all that?"

Liren shot the archer a glare, but then looked away as Claude pulled his pants down to reveal his bright golden underwear. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Sylvain's black underwear contrasting with his pale skin. The dancer was surprised he didn't get a spontaneous nosebleed as he once again averted his eyes. Where was he supposed to look?! With a sigh, he decided taking his own clothes off would be the only way to get a moment of respite. As he knelt to unclasp his gladiator sandals from behind his knees, he could feel Sylvain's gaze upon him.

"You two can go in first! Don't wait for me!" he exclaimed, hoping to get the attention off of himself. He was relieved as the pair acquiesced, jumping into the pool of water excitedly.

"Ahhh, it's so warm! I can't believe the staff hasn't opened this up to the students yet!" Claude exclaimed, splashing around as Liren pulled his robe off of his shoulders and stepped out of it. The archer glanced over at Liren, who now stood only in his black safety shorts, then let out an exaggerated gasp of surprise. "Woah woah woah! You're way more in shape that I would've imagined!"

Liren's eyes narrowed, knowing Claude was just trying to make him seem more impressive in front of Sylvain. It was true, the dancer was certainly in shape and his body was well-defined, but his muscles were nothing compared to Sylvain's or even Claude's.

"He's a dancer after all! Of course he's in shape!" Sylvain responded, shamelessly scanning over Liren's body from inside the bath. Whatever bashfulness that had overtaken the knight earlier was clearly gone now, replaced by his usual confidence. In an attempt to get out of the spotlight, Liren jumped into the bath, the warm water rushing over his body.

"Okay, okay! Enough looking at me," he exclaimed with a nervous laugh, sinking into the water up to his neck. He couldn't deny that he was relieved the water was clear enough that he could see Sylvain's muscles well enough.

"Alright, alright. You do have a nice body, though," Sylvain responded with a confident smirk, causing even Claude's eyes to widen. So direct!

"Well damn! Just your type, huh, Sylvain?" Claude asked, enthralled in the possibility that he could push the pair together right now. Liren felt a wave of embarrassment rush over him, horrified that the archer would ask it in such a direct way. Unable to hold back his annoyance, he pushed a giant wave of water over the house leader with an angry "YA!". Claude, now doused with water, shot a look of playful anger at the dancer.

"Why you…" he stated, splashing an even more giant wave into Liren's face, followed by a barrage of smaller ones. The dancer let out a yelp as his brown hair was soaked by the onslaught. The attack came to an end abruptly and Liren opened his eyes to find Sylvain standing in front of him acting as a shield.

"Attacking a cute, defenseless dancer? Coward!" Sylvain exclaimed to Claude. Cute?! Liren was sure the knight was dropping hints now. Still, it was hard to be sure with all the gossip everyone had told him about Sylvain's flirty personality.

"He attacked me fir-!" Claude began, before getting walloped with a barrage from the red-haired boy. Sylvain finally ceased his attack, leaving Claude coughing and sputtering, and turned to Liren with a grin. "You okay back there?"

Liren nodded wide-eyed at the knight. With the water running down his muscles and his defensive stature, he honestly looked like some Greek god. The sight caused Liren to snap back to reality. Did he really have any chance with a guy like Sylvain?

Suddenly, Claude let out a battle cry, lunging forward in an attempt to tackle the knight. The red-head instinctively moved out of the way and Claude, unable to stop his momentum, rammed head-first into Liren's face. The dancer let out a cry of pain, stumbling backwards and clutching at his nose.

"Oh shit! Liren! I'm sorry! Are you okay?" Claude asked in concern, rubbing his own head in pain. The dancer nodded, but as he looked down at his hand he could see drops of blood coalescing on his palm. Dammit. He had known there was no way he'd get out of this scenario without a nosebleed.

* * *

_Thanks for reading! Plz sub/comment if ya enjoyed :)_


	7. Chapter 7

Four days had passed since Liren's bath adventure, but the memory was still fresh in his mind. Although the trio had had to throw in the towel or risk infecting the water with Liren's blood, the memory was still a fond one. He had gotten to see Sylvain's muscles and it even seemed like the knight might have some interest in him as well! When he had reported the night to the rest of his housemates, they had all but died from amusement. At this point, he had pretty much gotten used to the dramatic antics of the Golden Deer and even found it endearing. It was sweet that they were all so invested in his romantic endeavor.

A smile crossed his face as he headed for the lecturing hall, ready to relax and listen to a lesson from Manuela. The healer's lectures were always of particular interest to the dancer, as the skills she taught wove in well with his own dancing spells. Not to mention, she usually ended up giving a piece of advice in regards to romance, though Liren wasn't sure if it was wise to follow her instruction in that area.

"Lirennnn! Where are you going?" came a female voice from across the lawn, pulling him from his thoughts. The dancer turned to see Hilda waving at him from a yard away, her pink hair swaying back and forth behind her. He walked towards her with a confused expression upon his face.

"To class? Where are _you_ headed?" Liren asked, wondering if the noble had forgotten about the lecture or simply intended to skip. Hilda placed her hands on her hips and shook her head with a smirk.

"Ahhh, they really don't onboard transfer students well here, do they?" she stated with a light chuckle, her pink eyes falling upon his own. "There's no lecture today! We have battle practice!"

Liren tilted his head in confusion, not having heard anything about this event. "Battle practice…? Like we'll be sparring one on one? I thought that was only during afternoon training…."

Hilda shook her head, bringing her palm to her forehead in exasperation. "No, no! This is a _real _battle! We'll be fighting against the Blue Lions on Gronder Field with weapons and everything! It's honestly such a pain..."

"W-wha?!" Liren exclaimed in surprise, totally unprepared for a mock battle. "Why did no one tell me about this? I'm not ready to be in a battle! I'll be useless!"

"You'll be fineeee. Plus, there's no way out of it-lord knows I tried," the girl stated, beginning to walk in the direction of the field. Liren followed, resigned to his fate. In an attempt to cheer him up, Hilda added, "Look on the bright side! If it's the Lions we're fighting, then you-know-who will be there!"

Liren's spirits lifted a bit at the realization, but then fell again as he realized there was the possibility he'd have to fight with Sylvain. "I'm glad he'll be there, but what if we end up having to fight against each other?"

"Then you take him down! You can't let a crush get in the way of our Golden Deer honor, Liren!" Hilda exclaimed, thrusting her fist into the air. Though the girl attempted to play it cool and brush off responsibility, Liren could tell she was deeply invested in the success of their house and admired this about her. He nodded his understanding with a smile, his robes swishing around his legs as they walked.

"I won't let the Deer down!" he exclaimed, giving the pink-haired a girl a high five as they continued towards the battlefield.

* * *

The pair approached Gronder Field only to find that they were the last of their classmates to arrive. Leonie glanced from Hilda to Liren, a disapproving look on her face.

"Hilda, your values are clearly rubbing off on Liren. You should set a better example!" she chided, Lorenz nodding his agreement. Hilda threw the pair an annoyed look before picking up a practice axe.

"Alright, alrightttt! I'll actually try in this battle to make up for being late. Happy?" she asked, giving the wooden axe a practice swing dangerously close to Lorenz. The mage leapt back in fright, before regaining his composure and letting out a scoff.

"Hey now, the Lions are the enemy, not each other," came Claude's voice. The house leader gathered the members into a circle in order to review their strategy.

"Ignatz, I'm gonna leave the fliers to you, alright? They've only got Ingrid, so as long as you're staying on her, she shouldn't pose too much of a threat to everyone else," Claude stated, pointing at the boy with glasses. Ignatz looked uncomfortable at the mention of having to battle with Ingrid, but ultimately nodded his agreement.

"I'll try to keep her busy and out of the ground battles!" he responded, giving his best attempt to sound confident. Claude gave him a thumbs up before turning to Leonie and Raphael.

"You two! You're definitely the quickest out of everyone on our team. I want you to flank around the sides and pick off whoever you can. If you see someone alone, go for them. It's like those hunting strategies, y'know? If you don't stay with the pack, you get picked off or whatever!"

Leonie nodded her understanding, but Raphael looked hesitant. "We're not actually gonna beat them up too badly, right? I don't think my sis would like the thought of me beating up my classmates…"

Claude shook his head with a smile. "No no! Just until they say they give in. And don't worry, Manuela will be there to tend to any wounds."

The words seemed to calm the large boy, who was way gentler than Liren would have thought. Claude scanned over the rest of the group, seeing who was left.

"Alright, Hilda, I want you in front. Don't do anything dangerous, but try to deflect as much of the onslaught from Dmitri and Dedue as you can. Lysithea, Lorenz, I want you to cover her from the ranged attackers like Ash and Annette. I'll try to pick off the mages and help where I'm needed. Oh, and if you have a chance to take Mercedes down...it pains me to say it, but do it. It'll be a lot harder to win this if they have her healing."

"Dmitri _and_ Dedue? Don't you think that's a little much to ask of a girl like me?" HIlda responded, clearly displeased with the proposition.

"You said you were gonna give it your all today, didn't you?" Leonie replied, earning her another glare from the pink-haired girl. "And don't worry, I'll try to jump in and help ya when I can."

Lysithea brought her hand to her chin in thought, then interjected. "Mm, that's all fine and well, but what about Sylvain and Felix? They're both super fast and they'll probably be going for Lorenz and I."

Claude glanced around the circle, trying to think around the problem. "Good point. Raphael, make sure to keep an eye on our mages and come to their aid if you see an attack incoming. Marianne, stay in the back and focus on heals, but try to keep as out of sight as possible. Prioritize Hilda, Lysithea, and Lorenz. "

He turned to Liren, raising an eyebrow. "Hmm...Liren. To be honest, we've never had a dancer on our team, so I'm not exactly sure how you'll play into this. I think it'd be best for you to stay back and analyze the field until you can see an area that's under pressure, then try to help out there. Sound good?"

Liren nodded his understanding, relieved to be put in a less prominent role in his first battle. He'd do his best to help out where he could, but he truly had no idea what to expect.

"Alrighty then! Everyone head to the armory and grab what ya need, then meet back at the starting point," Claude commanded, giving his crew a confident smile.

* * *

As Liren walked through the armory, his eyes widened at the sheer number of weapons that lined the walls. He'd never seen most of the blades in here and some of them looked quite terrifying. Fortunately, they'd only be using wooden weapons for this battle, but the thought still daunted him. Though he had trained with a spear here and there, he had little confidence in his abilities being used in a real battle. As he stared at the wooden spears leaning against the armory wall, a familiar voice interrupted him.

"Ah, you use spears too? We have even more in common than we thought," Sylvain said cheerfully, walking up and grabbing a spear from the rack.

"Er, I wouldn't say I use them, but they're the weapon I'm most familiar with," Liren replied, grabbing a spear for himself and turning it over in his hands. He tried his best to keep his face from flushing in front of the taller boy. "Still, I'm not gonna hold back! I promised my house that even though we're….friends, I'm still gonna give it my all against you!"

Sylvain let out a laugh, amused by the dancer's sudden passion. "Alright, well same to you! I didn't wanna fight you, but looks like you're leaving me no choice."

"Hmm, can't you hold back a little, though? I'm new! And a dancer! And you're way more in shape and have a horse!" Liren replied, trying to gain some pity from the knight. Sylvain gave him a devilish smile while shaking his head.

"Nope! You're the one who declared war! Now you're gonna have to pay for it," he responded, giving the spear a twirl. "But how bout if I do hit ya, I'll make it up to you later. But for now, I gotta go before Ingrid ends me, so I'll see you out there!"

Liren smiled and gave the knight a wave as he exited from the armory. So cute! The dancer didn't understand why Sylvain had such a bad rep when he was such a sweet guy. Shrugging, Liren gripped the wooden spear and headed for the opposite exit. Just as he emerged into the sunlight, a wooden sword swung horizontally, stopping just before his throat.

"Tch. So you're that new Golden Deer, huh?" came a stranger's voice. Liren froze, only daring to turn his head an inch to see who this aggressor could be. The voice belonged to a slender boy with his dark-hair tied up into a messy bun, a look of disdain upon his face. "Sylvain seems to have taken a liking to you, though I can't imagine why."

"W-who are you?" Liren managed to get out, completely caught off guard. The boy scoffed again, but dropped his sword to his side.

"I'm Felix, swordmaster and pro duelist of the Blue Lions. Sylvain is mine-you won't be changing that. I'd challenge you to a duel for his affection, but you're clearly too weak," he stated, looking the dancer up and down. Liren was completely taken aback by this whole encounter. How did this Felix person already know that he liked Sylvain? And was this the guy that his fellow Golden Deer had mentioned earlier on?

"You've got it wrong! I…I'm not trying to steal him from you!" the dancer stated, unconvincingly.

"Ah, so you just happen to constantly be spending time with him. How believable. The only thing I hate more than a weakling is a liar," Felix shot back, pointing the tip of his blade at Liren. "Keep your eyes open on the battlefield. I'm coming for you."

With that, the Lion turned on his heel and marched off towards his team's starting point.

"What...just happened?" Liren asked himself out loud, beginning to walk back to the Deer's meeting area. He considered telling Claude about the encounter, but decided against it, not wanting to mess up the battle plan over something stupid. It was unlikely Felix would even have the time to take out a personal grudge on the battlefield anyway.

"There you are! I thought you might've run off on us," Claude exclaimed as Liren neared the group. The dancer shook his head, offering up a smile.

"Never!"

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	8. Chapter 8

"Everyone at the ready! The mock battle will start in 3...2...1...BEGIN!" boomed Hanneman's voice from the side of the battlefield. Liren stood anxiously gripping his weapon at the rear of his class as the battle suddenly sprung into action. He was shocked at how fast the peace turned into chaos with each class barreling forward to get the advantage of high ground. To his left he could see Ignatz already tracking down Ingrid to keep the pegasus knight at bay, while to his right Leonie and Claude broke off from the main force to begin picking off whoever they could.

Hilda, Lysithea, Lorenz, and Raphael all charged forwards, directly towards the incoming melee fighters of the Blue Lions. He could see Marianne staring on worriedly from beside him, yet behind her anxiety he could tell she was analyzing the situation carefully and keeping track of who needed assistance.

"Don't...overthink it or you'll just paralyze yourself…" she stated quietly, still glancing from classmate to classmate. Liren wasn't sure if the comment was directed at him or herself, but in either case, he needed to hear it. After another quick scan of the battlefield, the dancer decided Hilda's party would need him the most at the moment. The pink-haired girl was dueling against both Dmitri and Dedue at once, while Lysithea and Lorenz attempted to shoot down Sylvain from his steed.

"Okay, okay, just be careful and aware," Liren said to himself as he began running forwards, his robes fluttering around him. To his surprise, he was able to approach Hilda's group rather smoothly, not having been noticed by the enemy class. The noble girl was an impressive sight as she deflected blows from Dmitri's lance with her axe, while also nimbly dodging attacks from the slower Dedue. Just as Liren arrived behind her, the two Lions brought down their weapons simultaneously. While Hilda was able to block the attacks by holding her axe horizontally, the force of the blows knocked her backwards. She stumbled into the dancer, who grabbed her to keep her from falling. Looking back in surprise, her face lit up upon seeing who had come to her aid.

"Awww, Liren! You _do_ care about me!" she stated perkily, as if she weren't fighting a 2-on-1 battle.

"Of course! I can't let my best friend fight at a disadvantage!" he replied, Hilda's eyes lighting up upon hearing she was his best friend. Turning her attention back to the fight, she lashed out with a massive swipe of her axe, forcing both Lions backwards.

"Alright, here it goes. This should boost your speed and strength!" Liren exclaimed as he began his dance. The dance was a familiar one to him-one of the first choreographies he had learned with his troop. It consisted of fluid movements, light spins, and had to be executed with grace. Dancing and spinning around the battlefield felt a bit absurd, but he knew that it would be impactful. After a few moments of executing the dance, a faint golden aura radiated from his skin, invigorating his dance even further. With one final move, the aura shot through the air, transfering to Hilda. All at once, the girl's movements elevated to a completely different level.

"What the? How is this possible?" she asked in awe, surprised by her own inhumanly fast movements. The battle that had once seemed uphill instantly flipped as the girl pressed her own onslaught of attacks, easily outspeeding Dedue. She landed a high-powered blow into the breastplate of the giant Blue Lion which incredibly toppled him over. Liren prepared a second dance to aid his friend, but noticed someone moving rapidly across the battlefield towards the Deer's backline. As he squinted to see who it was, he was horrified to see that it was none other than Felix, his eyes locked on Marianne.

"No, no, no! Hilda, I'm leaving this to you!" the dancer exclaimed, breaking into a full speed dash towards his blue-haired classmate. Marianne caught sight of him hurtling towards her, robes fluttering around him wildly in the wind, then seemed to notice Felix's approach as well, her eyes widening.

"Run towards me!" Liren shouted, still a few yards away from the healer. Marianne wasted no time, breaking into a sprint towards the dancer. Miraculously, the pair were able to unite moments before Felix reached them. The swordsman's agility was intimidatingly ferocious, having crossed the breadth of the field in less than a minute. It didn't seem like the boy was in any mood to talk as he immediately launched into an attack, bringing his sword down towards the Deer. Liren instinctively stepped forwards, bringing his lance up into a defensive position. The weapons collided and he was relieved to see that the force of the collision caused Felix to take a step backwards.

"Marianne! Get Claude or Leonie! Someone who can move quickly! I won't be able to hold him off for long, but you're our only healer, we can't let you go down!" Liren exclaimed, barely deflecting Felix's next blow.

"I can't leave-" the girl began.

"Please go! If you don't, we're both gonna be taken out by him," Liren pleaded. The healer considered for a moment, then obeyed the instruction to the dancer's relief.

"She won't get far. I'll take her out just as soon as I finish you," Felix stated, speaking for the first time. "The weak aren't meant for the battlefield."

The swordsman lunged forward once again and Liren prepared to deflect the blow, but this time Felix feinted, retracting his blade just before impact and swiping it instead towards the dancer's exposed leg. Caught off guard, Liren did his best to dodge, but wasn't prepared for the tactic. The wood caught him behind the knee, forcing him to a kneel as he let out a yelp of pain from the sting.

"Pathetic…." Felix stated, launching his next attack towards the dancer's neck without an ounce of sympathy. A sudden rush of annoyance towards himself rushed through Liren's body. He wasn't great at battling, but he had trained in dance since he was a young child. There was no reason to belittle himself in comparison to the boy he now fought. Who was Felix to talk down to him-noble or not! And it was true, he _did_ want Sylvain. If this was how the swordsman wanted it, he would fight to the best of his ability.

The dancer dropped himself onto his back with surprising speed, allowing the blade to slice harmlessly through the air above him. He pushed the end of his spear into the ground, using it to gracefully spin himself back up to his feet while simultaneously parrying Felix's next strike. For a moment, Liren thought he saw what looked like a flash of surprise on the swordsman's face.

_That's right. I'm not strong and I don't know many attacks, but I'm fast. _Liren thought to himself, a bit of confidence building in his abilities. As he deflected yet another blow, he saw a chance to launch his own attack. Gripping the end of his spear, he swung the weapon over his head once to build up speed, then swept it low in an attempt to knock the swordsman off his feet. Felix let out a scoff as he easily jumped over the attack, preparing his next strike.

"That's not all!" Liren exclaimed as he crouched and kicked out one of his legs, allowing the momentum of the spear to pull his body in a circle with it. Just as Felix's feet hit the ground, the dancer's leg swept towards them in a second, follow-up attack. This time, the Lion was unable to dodge, his feet being pulled from under him and forcing him onto his bottom. The dancer gracefully returned to his full height from his crouch, looking down in surprise to see that the attack had actually worked.

The victory was short lived, however, as Felix thrust the sword up at him diagonally, aiming straight for his stomach. Liren was able to jump back, but it gave the swordsman the moment he needed to hop back to his feet. The battle continued for what felt like minutes with Liren parrying and evading and Felix relentlessly pressing the attack. Finally, the dancer slipped up, deflecting a powerful blow that knocked the spear from his hands.

"Ugh!" Liren exclaimed, stumbling back a few steps and trying to figure out his next move. Felix had already prepped his follow-up, ready to end this battle, and he thrust his blade forward at the dancer's chest. Liren flinched, knowing the blow would hurt, but somehow the impact never came. A crack filled the air and the dancer opened his eyes just in time to see an arrow connect with the sword, redirecting the strike away from him. He turned his head in disbelief to see Claude and Marianne signal to him from across the field. Claude had hit Felix's sword from that distance?! No wonder he was their house leader. The dancer had hoped his classmates would be coming to his aid, but it looked like Claude currently had his hands full with Dmitri, who had broken away from his fight with Hilda to intercept the archer.

Felix seemed to be just as surprised as Liren at having his attack deflected and the dancer took the moment to grab his spear from the ground.

"You can't win this-I don't lose duels and your housemates are too busy to come save you. Give me your word that you'll leave Sylvain to me and I'll end this duel swiftly. Otherwise, I'll make sure you won't be able to walk. That'll keep you from meeting with him for a good long while."

Felix pointed his sword towards the dancer, raising an eyebrow as he awaited a response. "Well?"

Liren considered denying that he had feelings for Sylvain once again, but knew that was untrue and that Felix certainly wouldn't believe it. Besides, this battle wasn't only about Sylvain-he had promised his housemates that he'd do his best for their sake.

"I'm not going to let the Deer down and I'm not giving you Sylvain," Liren retorted bluntly. His eyes widened slightly as he was taken aback by the words that he'd just uttered. Felix's visage instantly darkened, his hand tightening on the hilt of his blade.

"Newcomer filth arrives at our school and has the audacity to defy me when I try to show mercy?" he asked, fury in his voice. "I gave you an out, but now I won't hold back."

The swordsman lunged forward with what seemed like enhanced agility, stabbing the sword towards the dancer. Liren had barely managed to hop out of the way before a second lunge struck him hard in the left bicep, sending a shock of pain through his arm.

"Guh!" Liren gasped, his left hand coming loose from the spear. Had Felix seriously been messing around all this time? The dancer had gotten too confident! He was fast, but students of the sword were notoriously agile, particularly in battle. Felix pushed forwards with a horizontal slash and it was all Liren could do to raise the spear in hopes of blocking the strike. To his luck, the weapons clashed, protecting him from the blow, but his one handed grip wasn't strong enough to maintain his hold on the polearm. The weapon was sent flying out of reach, leaving the dancer weaponless in this already uphill battle.

What could he do now? Run? Felix was faster. Beg for mercy? Too pathetic. Try to fight? He'd get thrashed. It seemed like the current best option was to bide for time. Unfortunately, now that the Lion wasn't holding back, the attacks were far more difficult to dodge. The Deer swooped, rolled, and danced his way out of a few strikes, but inevitably Felix found an opening. With merciless force, the swordsman drove his sword in a downwards arc directly into Liren's shin. A sharp crack momentarily filled the air before being replaced by a cry of anguish from the pink-eyed boy.

Liren fell to one knee immediately, the pain from the strike coursing through his leg and into the rest of his body. He gasped for air, fighting back tears, as he was sure that the blow had fractured the bone.

"Ah, so you do know how to kneel before your superiors," Felix stated with a smirk. Forcing himself to regain his composure, Liren summoned the strength in his uninjured leg and launched himself from the ground in a last ditch effort to reach his spear. He landed on his stomach with an ungraceful thud, the spear inches away from his grasp. His left arm still ached from the force of Felix's earlier strike, but his right arm would be able to reach it. The boy outstretched his arm, his fingers grazing the wood momentarily before Felix brought his sword down directly atop the dancer's hand, pinning it to the ground. Had the blade not been made from wood, it easily would've pierced through his hand from the excessive force, yet the impact from the blunted blade almost seemed worse.

This time, the tears shot to the dancer's eyes, unable to hold them back through the pain. His right hand and left leg were out of commission, and his left arm was throbbing as well. He forced himself to roll over onto his back and muster the strength to prop himself up on his aching left arm, looking up at his aggressor through the tears welling in his eyes.

"Insolence must be punished, unfortunately," Felix stated, staring down at him without a hint of sympathy on his face. "I warned you that I'd have to make it painful if you didn't yield and yet you still kept on."

Liren gritted his teeth, trying to think of some possible escape, but coming up empty. His body was ruined, not to mention he had reached his limit in terms of stamina.

"I'd say you're unable to battle now, but you've surprised me thus far. You have tenacity, I'll give you that. Thus, in order to be _sure_ you're out, allow me one more blow," Felix said, the faintest hint of a smile appearing on his face as he raised his sword in preparation to knock the Deer out. Liren's pink eyes followed the sword as it raced down towards his face. At least no one would be able to say that he hadn't given it his all.

"Felix!" Sylvain's voice pierced the air, an underlying anger in it. The swordsman brought his strike to a halt an inch from Liren's face as if suddenly frozen. As the knight approached atop his horse, he gazed down from Liren to Felix. "What are you doing? He clearly can't fight anymore."

"You'd be surprised. I asked him to yield, but he refused, so I was just finishing the job," the swordsman shot back, defensively. Sylvain shook his head in disapproval.

"We heard you crack his leg from halfway across the battlefield. That was already more than enough to disqualify him," the redhead retorted. "The others need help-we've already lost half our class while you were over here tormenting him."

A look of pure rage spewed from the swordsman's eyes upon being chided by his crush, but he withheld it.

"Tch." With one last glare of disgust at Liren, he turned on his heel and headed off towards the greater battle. Liren let out a sigh of relief as he looked up at Sylvain, wincing from the pain of his injuries. He had heard the term "knight in shining armor," but he'd never thought he'd be saved by one.

"Wow, you were supposed to battle me, not Felix! He never holds back, but it seems like he went extra hard on you," Sylvain said with a worried smile as he dismounted his steed and extended a hand. Liren glanced at his bruised right hand, then grabbed hold with his left hand. The knight hoisted him to his feet, though the dancer could only stand on his right leg, unable to put pressure on his fractured limb.

"Thanks for saving me," Liren said, breathing through the pain. "But you have to go help your house in the battle now! Don't worry, I can get to the sidelines by myself."

"You sure about that?" Sylvain asked, releasing his grip on the dancer's arm and causing the injured boy to waver unsteadily on his one leg. The knight placed his hand back on the boy's shoulder to steady him again with an eyebrow raised. Liren let out a resigned sigh.

"It's fine, it'll just take a sec," Sylvain stated, reassuring the shorter boy. To Liren's surprise, the Lion hoisted him off the ground with ease and helped him atop his horse, then climbed up behind him. Glancing around, he could see Claude give him a confused look before using his bow to deflect a strike from Dmitri.

As they rode, Liren could feel Sylvain's chest against his back and arms wrapped around his sides as he guided the steed, but something was bothering him. Did the redhead have something with Felix? In which case, was Liren homewrecking? Sylvain did have a reputation of being a playboy-what if he had just been flirting with the dancer while Felix wasn't around? His fellow deer _had _mentioned them having something. Liren turned his head, glancing back at the knight, who gave him a curious look.

"You're awfully quiet. More quiet than usual! I mean, you did just fight a battle, but…" Sylvain stated, trying to be cheerful.

"I-it's nothing! I'm just tired," Liren lied, feeling himself already beginning to get into his own head. Sylvain refrained from pushing further, letting them ride in silence until they reached Manuela on the sidelines. Hanneman and Manuela helped him down from the horse and thanked Sylvain for bringing the dancer over. Liren glanced back at the knight, forcing a smile.

"Thank you! You didn't have to do that...you're a true knight," he stated, attempting to act normal. Sylvain gave him a wink before riding back into the battle. As Manuela gave him a once over, she let out a gasp of surprise.

"Oh dear, your injuries are considerably worse than we usually see from these battles," the healer stated, taking note of the dancer's leg and hand. "Let's get you to the infirmary, sweetie!"

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	9. Chapter 9

"What the?!" came Hilda's voice as the door to the infirmary room burst open, causing Liren to jump up in his bed. The pink-haired girl, still in her armor, rushed across the large room with Claude and Marianne behind her.

"I'm gonna end that Felix's whole existence, I swear!" Hilda exclaimed angrily, as she approached the bed and gave Liren a once over. "Liren! Are you okay? Manuela told us what happened…"

The boy nodded at her with a smile, trying to ease her worries. Claude and Marianne wore equally exasperated expressions and he could see the guilt written across the blue-haired girl's face.

"I'm fine! My leg was fractured, but Manuela managed to heal it, so now it's just a giant bruise," Liren stated, pointing at his shin which had turned a horrible shade of black and blue. "Everything else was just smaller cuts and bruises! Don't worry!"

"Liren, I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have let you fight him alone. I just thought I could get help, but we got intercepted and-" Marianne began, before the dancer waved his hands in front of him in a plea for her to stop.

"It's not your fault at all! I told you to go. I'm so glad you listened so we didn't both get taken down!" he stated, giving the healer a genuine smile. He looked back and forth between his three classmates. "So...what was the result of the battle anyway?"

Claude brought his fist to his chest, thumping it proudly. "The Deer came out victorious, as expected! Hilda managed to take out Dedue thanks to your dance-it was amazing!"

Hilda rolled her eyes at the compliment, but couldn't help but grin. "That dance was so amazing, Liren! I didn't know that a dancer could bring such intense magic to a battle. I'm gonna keep you by my side forever from now on!"

"And don't worry, Raphael and Leonie heard what happened and delivered some justice to Felix. Not the same amount as he delivered to you, but...they roughed him up a little," Claude said, giving the dancer a thumbs up. Liren gave a nervous chuckle, not having wished that they'd seek revenge for him, but also not mad about it.

"What was up with that anyway?" Hilda asked, clenching her fist in anger. "How could he go after a new kid so intensely! And a dancer at that!"

Liren considered telling them about the encounter at the armory, but he didn't want to put a rift between the Lions and the Deer. "Er, I guess he was just taking it really seriously! In a real battle, it doesn't matter if I'm a dancer or not, so it makes sense…"

Hilda shook her head defiantly, but accepted the answer. "Well, if it happens again, he's gonna catch the end of my axe! And Claude's arrow! And Marianne's….magic or something!"

"I'm glad I can count on you all," Liren said with a shy laugh, glad that he had ended up in the Golden Deer.

* * *

A few days passed and things had mostly returned to normal-save for the giant bruise that still tarnished the dancer's leg. Liren had yet to run into Sylvain or Felix and counted it as a blessing. He wanted to avoid the swordsman for obvious reasons, but he also didn't want to face the issue with Sylvain. He still didn't know what the relationship between the two Lions was and he didn't want to pry.

The bells of the clocktower rung out, signaling the end of the faith lecture he'd been attending. As everyone began to file out, Liren turned to find Hilda and Claude, but Manuela's voice interrupted.

"Liren, dear! Come up here for a moment," the professor stated, a smile upon her face. The dancer turned around to face his teacher, confused whether he was in trouble for something. He approached the stage of the lecture hall and climbed the stairs to meet the woman.

"Yes, professor?" he asked nervously. Manuela let out a laugh, smacking him lightly on the shoulder.

"Oh, please. You don't have to be so nervous. It's nothing bad!" she stated, her voice as sing-songy as ever. She pointed at the boy's exposed leg beneath his robes. "I just wanted to make sure that your leg is healing properly. Does everything feel okay?"

Liren let out an internal sigh of relief. It was just a check-in about his recovery. "Ah, yes! It's perfect. It still has a bruise, but it doesn't hurt at all anymore thanks to your healing!"

Manuela smiled, happy to hear that her magic had worked. "Oh good, I was worried! Felix sure did a number on you. Quite unexpected from him, honestly! Anyway, that was all, you may go now."

Liren thanked the woman once more and headed for the exit, wondering if he could still catch up with his friends.

"Oh, and Liren, dear!" came Manuela's voice once more as he reached the door. "Take a tip from me. When it comes to love, you simply have to tackle it head on!"

Liren wheeled around, his eyes wide as he wondered if the woman knew about his issue. "W-wha?"

Manuela laughed once more, clearly amused by his bashfulness. "Oh, nothing, nothing! As someone who's been through every romantic situation, I can tell when someone else is struggling with love. I just wanted to impart some wisdom. Go on now!"

Liren gave the professor an awkward bow before rushing out of the room, his face flushed. Had Manuela really been able to piece together his situation just by observing? So awkward!

The boy headed across the lawn towards the dormitories, hoping he could find one of his housemates to take his mind off of the embarrassment. He had made it halfway across the grassy field before a flash of orange caught his eye. Sylvain was headed in his direction, causing his heart to skip a beat, though it seemed the knight hadn't noticed him yet. Worse, the intimidating leader of the Lions, Dmitri, was at his side with his blue cape flowing in the wind. Liren looked around frantically for a place to hide, but the field offered no shelter. In a shameless last attempt, he turned directly around and began to walk back towards the lecture hall.

"Liren!" The sound of his name made him wince, but he took a deep breath and turned back around to face his fears. The duo had already almost closed the distance, Sylvain smiling confidently. "Where are you running off to?"

"I...thought I forgot something in the lecture hall. I was gonna go check, but I just remembered it was in my room!"

Sylvain raised an eyebrow, but dismissed the lie. He pointed at the blonde boy next to him. "You know Dmitri, right?"

"Er...we've never formally met, but of course I know who you are," Liren stated, turning to the house leader. He knew that Dmitri was a nice person, but he was still incredibly intimidating. Unlike Claude, the blonde boy had a definite air of regalness to him that made the dancer nervous.

"Ah, I know who you are too," Dmitri said with a smile. "You dueled Felix and actually made him struggle. And you also made Hilda a monster to fight."

"Oh, right. Sorry about that…" Liren responded, intertwining his fingers nervously. Dmitri shook his head, his blue eyes shining.

"It was very impressive. It makes me want to get a dancer in the Blue Lions," he said, Sylvain nodding his agreement.

"Just steal Liren over to our side!" the knight suggested. "Although Hilda and Claude will probably kill us in our sleep to get him back."

Sylvain seemed to notice the bruise on the dancer's shin, pointing at it with a grimace. "Ah, right. Wasn't I supposed to make it up to you if we ended up fighting?"

"Oh...no, you really don't have to, it was a practice battle! It wasn't your fault," Liren retorted, trying to avoid making plans with the knight until he had more information on the Felix situation.

"No no no, I'm a man of my word, Liren," Sylvain shot back, crossing his arms as if he were offended. "What are you doing tonight?"

"W-wha? Tonight?" Liren stuttered, racking his brain for an excuse. "I have an exam tomorrow! I need to study for it…"

"Oh, perfect! Let's study together. My room at 8pm?" the knight replied smoothly. Dmitri raised an eyebrow at the suggestion, seemingly impressed by Sylvain's finesse.

"I…" Liren began, but this time no excuse came to mind. "I…okay, we can study together. But can I invite Marianne and Hilda?"

Sylvain shook his head, then locked eyes with the dancer. "Nope, it's a private session, sorry!"

Dmitri stifled a chuckle, clearly amused by the forwardness. "It's not easy to turn Sylvain down, huh?"

"It's not…" Liren responded. "Not that I wanted to!"

"Great! Then it's a date! Well, a study date. But if you bring anyone else, I'm not gonna let em in, so don't bother," Sylvain stated before beginning to walk towards the lecture hall. He waved over his shoulder. "See you tonight!"

Dmitri followed suit, giving an apologetic smile to the Deer. "Nice to meet you officially. Good luck with your exam!"

Liren bid the duo farewell before heading back towards his dormitory. What. Just. Happened?! He couldn't deny that he was excited about the date, but his whole plan of avoidance had been obliterated. Not to mention, he still didn't know if Sylvain liked him for certain. Maybe it really was just an innocent date-it'd be foolish to get his hopes up preemptively. But at this point, it was hard to deny that Sylvain was flirting with him, especially when even Dmitri had seemed to notice. And if it _was_ a date, Felix would be at his throat without a doubt.

"Ahh, this is so complicated," Liren stated to himself, running his hand through his brown hair. Manuela's words suddenly rang through his head. Tackle it head on. The advice seemed too fortuitous to be a coincidence. With a nod of confirmation, the dancer decided he'd take the advice and use the study session to get the answers he needed to know.

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	10. Chapter 10

As the time rolled closer and closer to 8pm, Liren's anxiety increased with each passing minute. Was this actually a date?! Should he dress up? Technically, it was just a study session...but he should still look good, right? The dancer had emptied half of his closet already in an attempt to find a suitable outfit. His normal white robes wouldn't do, but almost all of his clothes were dancers' apparel that exposed a lot of skin. For someone on the shy side, he saw the irony in the outfits that he tended to wear, but light clothing truly did make it far easier to dance.

In the far corner of his closet, he spotted a black robe accented with gold that he hadn't worn in years. He plucked it out and examined it, trying to remember the last time he had put it on. The black was simple enough, but the gold trimmings that lined the edges of the robe added a bit of flair. It would do for tonight.

Liren slipped the robe on and checked himself out in the mirror. The robe was sleeveless and, like all of his robes, flared out at the bottom, leaving his legs completely exposed up until his black shorts halfway up his thighs. The black gave him a more mature look than his usual white robes, especially since he had pushed his hair back rather than leaving it in its typical bangs. In all honesty, he almost looked like a noble! A very scantily clad nobel. The boy glanced at the clock, realizing there were only ten minutes remaining, then rushed to pull on his black gladiator sandals that snaked up his calves to his knees.

"Okay...we're being forward tonight! Forward! Get the answers you want!" he told himself in the mirror. With an affirmative nod, he left his room to head to his fateful study date.

* * *

Even though Sylvain lived in the second dorm building, it didn't take long for the dancer to arrive. Taking a deep breathe, he steeled himself and knocked on the door, gripping the strap on his satchel tightly. A few moments passed before the door swung open, revealing Sylvain in a plain black t-shirt and red sweatpants that matched his unstyled hair. Liren's heart dropped as he suddenly felt incredibly overdressed. Had he misread the situation?!

"Ahh, my little dancer boy! I was afraid you were gonna ghost me!" Sylvain exclaimed, opening the door wider and ushering the shorter boy in. "Wow, I've never seen your hair pushed back. And I don't think I've ever seen you in anything other than white either!"

"I...just came from an event that I had to dress up for!" Liren lied, trying to cover the fact that he had seemingly misread the study date. Sylvain let out a laugh, then leaned in closer, examining the dancer's face.

"You know, you can never hold eye contact when you lie," the knight replied with a smirk, before pulling back. "You dressed up for me, didn't you?"

Liren let out a scoff, dropping his satchel to the ground and taking a seat at Sylvain's desk. He had to play it cool. "Why would I do something like that? You said it's a _study_ date."

Sylvain raised an eyebrow at the boy's uncharacteristically sassy answer, then took a seat on his bed perpendicular to Liren. "Is it now? I mean, if that's what you want…"

Liren couldn't resist narrowing his eyes at the knight. It was clear that they were both flirting around the topic, but neither wanted to address it directly. Manuela's words echoed in his head once more and Liren knew he'd have to take the initiative this time.

"What I _want_ is some answers," the dancer stated, surprised by his own directness.

"Hmm? I'm an open book, ask away," Sylvain responded cooly, placing his hands behind his head.

"Okay then, what's your relationship with Felix?" Liren asked without wasting any time. The question seemed to throw the knight off guard as he brought his hands back down and momentarily dropped his facade of coolness. A moment later, though, it was back up as he let out a playful laugh.

"Felix? We're good friends. He's been close with me since we joined the Lions. Why do you ask?"

"Are you sure that's it?" Liren asked, ignoring Sylvain's question and crossing his arms. There was no way Felix would have acted so aggressively if the two were simply friends.

"I mean, we _might_ have had something for a bit, but that was a long time ago. We're just friends now," the knight replied. A shiver ran down Liren's spine as he realized Felix was a crazy ex. How terrifying.

"Oh, I see…" the dancer replied, though he still had more questions. "So who are you interested in now?"

"Woah woah woah. When did this Deer get so direct?" Sylvain responded, now crossing his own arms, but still holding his smirk. "There's someone I like. But I'm not gonna tell you until you tell me who you're interested in first. I've already answered a lot of questions!"

Liren averted his eyes, gritting his teeth in annoyance. It seemed like it would be impossible to make Sylvain confess first, but he didn't have it in him to admit his attraction either.

"No one! I'm not interested in anyone," he responded, turning his head and lifting his nose into the air defiantly. For a brief moment, a flash of disappointment once again broke through Sylvain's facade as the knight uncrossed his arms.

"Oh…seriously?" the redhead asked, a hint of sadness in his voice. Liren immediately felt a pang of guilt run through him. Sylvain had been honest with him when answering his questions, yet he hadn't given the same in return. With a sigh, he looked back at the knight.

"Okay, fine, there's someone I like too," he responded. Sylvain let out a laugh and pointed at the dancer's face.

"See! You averted your eyes again-I knew you were lying," he replied, pleased with his detective work. "Gotta work on that, kiddo. Now out with it! Who's the lucky person?"

"You're really going to make me answer that?" Liren asked, feeling his face begin to turn red. "Isn't it obvious?"

"Hey, I can't be sure till you confirm it! I'm dying of curiosity," Sylvain responded, leaning forward with anticipation.

"Let's say it at the same time at least!" the dancer whined. He'd never confessed to someone before and he honestly didn't know if he'd be able to without hearing it from Sylvain as well. The knight brought his hand to his chin, considering the offer.

"Fine then. On the count of three!" the redhead agreed, bringing up three fingers. "3...2...1!"

"You!" Liren exclaimed.

"Dmitri!" Sylvain stated at the same time. The dancer's jaw nearly hit the floor upon hearing the knight's response. His already red face flushed even deeper in horrified embarrassment. Never in his life had he felt like such an idiot-he couldn't even think of anything to say. Sylvain stared at him with a shocked expression for a moment, before breaking into a hysterical laugh.

"I'm kidding! It's you, obviously! Dmitri? I could never," the knight replied, still chuckling at the prank. Liren stared at the Lion, too bewildered to even give a reaction. Sylvain finally seemed to notice, halting his laughter and rising from the bed to move closer to the dancer.

"Okay, maybe that wasn't the best time for a joke…" he admitted, kneeling before the boy and grabbing his hand. "I'm sorry! I know I have a reputation of being a playboy, but I'm honestly not good at this type of thing when I genuinely like the person. I like you! A lot!"

Liren took a deep breath, reorganizing his thoughts as he felt Sylvain's grip on his hand. It had been an awful time for a joke, but this time the knight seemed honest.

"So...it's not just a study date. And you're not pranking me right now?" he asked, looking into Sylvain's eyes to try to catch any hint of insincerity. The knight rose to his feet and pulled Liren up from his chair, still clutching his hand.

"I'm not pranking you and I'll prove it," Sylvain responded. Before Liren could react, the knight wrapped his arm around the Deer's back and pulled him in, locking their lips. The kiss only lasted for a moment, but Liren felt like his heart was about to explode out of his chest.

"Damn, I've wanted to do that for a while now," the knight stated with a smile, his arm still wrapped around the dancer. "Does that prove it to ya?"

Liren brought his finger to his lip, completely shocked at the sudden move. To be honest, he couldn't believe this was real. No one he'd ever had a crush on had reciprocated his feelings and for someone as handsome as Sylvain to be the one to change that...how was this possible?

"Guh…" was all the dancer could get out as tears welled up in his eyes. Sylvain's expression immediately turned to one of concern, worried that he had made the move too quickly. He removed his arm in case it was causing the shorter boy discomfort and backed away a bit.

"N-no, you're fine," Liren said, wiping his eyes and putting on a smile. "Sorry! I just...I've never had someone like me back. I can't believe it! I'm so happy!"

Sylvain let out a sigh of relief as he realized he hadn't been the reason for the tears. "How can that be true? A cutie like you? You could have any guy you wanted."

The dancer let out a laugh, shaking his head. "No way! And you realize I'm not a noble, right…? Is this even allowed?"

"That doesn't matter. And one of the things I like most about you is your background. I can never trust people _because_ I'm a noble. It always seems like they're after my crest or wealth, but you've lived a life so removed from all of that. Traveling around with that performance troupe-I'm honestly jealous."

"It's true...those types of things were never a concern for me. I was always just happy to be traveling around with my sister and the other performers," Liren replied, a smile crossing his face as he thought back on his early days. "I'll have to introduce you to them sometime."

Sylvian's eyes lit up at the prospect. "Yes! You definitely have to! And speaking of introductions...are we going to tell people about this?"

"Mmm...well, we're still getting to know each other, right? We're dating but it's not like you're my boyfriend yet," Liren responded, unsure of how these things worked. Sylvain let out a laugh, placing his hand over his heart.

"Ouch! You wound me...so direct! I guess we're not, but yes, I'd say we're officially dating," the knight responded. "I think we should share it with our houses at least."

Liren suddenly remembered that sharing the info would mean Felix finding out. Still, he didn't want to ruin the moment or make Sylvain think he was embarrassed about it. He'd be able to find a way to handle Felix if it came down to that.

"Sure, we can tell our houses," Liren agreed, running his hand through his pushed back hair. Sylvain grinned, then stepped closer to the dancer once more.

"Great, now that the logistics are all out of the way, how about another kiss?" the knight stated, pulling Liren in. "And no crying this time!"

* * *

_omg it finally happened xD ty for reading! plz sub/like/comment if you enjoyed!_


	11. Chapter 11

The rest of the day passed by in a blur with Liren's thoughts mostly consumed by Sylvain. Miraculously, he hadn't bombed his exam, managing to pull off the necessary spells after a few attempts. Not his best work, but it would do. Claude had been ecstatic upon hearing his tale and though the leader had asked for the details, Liren had been able to mostly gloss over them. That was one down, but now that evening had come, it meant he'd be facing the rest of his housemates in their nightly gathering. He stood outside of the Golden Deer common room, preparing himself for the tirade of questions that was sure to erupt once he stepped through the door. Taking a deep breath, he pushed into the room and, as he expected, the conversations that had been occurring immediately stopped.

"Liren! Oh my gosh, I can't believe it! I'm dying from cuteness overload," Hilda's voice exclaimed, almost instantly. She rushed over to the dancer, grabbing his arm and pulling him into the middle of the common room before giving him a slight side-eye. "I can't believe you told Claude before me!"

Before he could defend himself, Leonie interjected her praise as well. "Wow, I honestly wasn't sure if anything was gonna come of this mission, but you really pulled it off!"

"It's not easy to pin Sylvain down, so it's actually doubly impressive!" Ignatz added, giving the dancer a thumbs up. Lorenz scoffed, shaking his head disapprovingly.

"I can't believe it...he's a noble," the purple-haired boy stated, earning him a glare from Hilda. "Are you sure you didn't just misinterpret his words?"

"Oh, quiet, Lorenz! You're just jealous that Liren has more game than you," Hilda shot back in Liren's defense. The two began to quarrel about Lorenz's dating life as Marianne approached the dancer.

"Wow...I'm so glad I didn't ruin everything for you. Congrats!" she stated quietly, giving Liren what seemed like the faintest hint of a smile.

"None of this would've happened if you hadn't taken me along to the teahouse! Thanks so much, Marianne," Liren replied, finally managing to get a word out. He gave the healer a smile and he could see that his words had lifted her spirits.

"Well then, that's a wrap on our house mission, huh?" Claude stated, bringing his hand to his chin in thought. "We'll have to think of a new one, but for tonight, let's celebrate our success!"

Hilda, who had finally finished arguing with Lorenz, returned to Liren's side and handed him a small green bottle. "It's ginger beer! Let's celebrate this new alliance between the Golden Deer and Blue Lions!"

"I like the way you think, Hilda!" Claude exclaimed, pointing at his pink-haired friend. "This is a strategic alliance. We married one of our own off to another house so now we're allies! Great work, Liren!"

"Wha…? I don't know if that's…" Liren began, but Claude cut him off, lifting a bottle of ginger beer into the air.

"Cheers for Liren and cheers for our new strategic alliance!" the house leader exclaimed. The rest of the Deer lifted their drinks in cheers, causing Liren to smile bashfully and lift his own.

"Thanks everyone! It's all because of you guys," the dancer stated shyly as his housemates broke out into cheers.

* * *

The rest of the night passed quickly, with all of the Deer in good spirits, and before Liren knew it, morning had arrived. To his relief, it was Saturday, which meant no class to worry about. He wouldn't see Sylvain till dinner, so the dancer decided he'd entertain himself by taking a walk around the grounds outside of the monastery. It had been a while since he'd gone outside the school's gates-in fact, the last time had been with Marianne and Sylvain when the trio had gone to the teahouse. That memory seemed like an eternity ago.

The school grounds were rather quiet, with most of the students and staff taking advantage of the weekend to gain some extra sleep, and Liren reached the gates unperturbed. He'd do a single lap around the outside of the monastery, then return for an early lunch with his housemates. As he walked around the grassy grounds, he couldn't help but smile. The nature extended out as far as he could see and reminded him of his childhood, traveling with his performance troupe. Speaking of which, he'd have to send a letter to his sister soon. He'd been so busy with getting adjusted to school life that he had yet to find the time to write to his sibling. A pang of guilt shot through him, remembering that he wouldn't be here without the efforts of his sibling. He'd make sure to write to her by the end of the weekend.

As he continued his stroll, he came upon a grove of trees to his right. He remembered Claude telling him how he'd practice climbing with one of the Black Eagles, Petra, and he wondered if this wasn't the grove where that had taken place. As his eyes scanned the woods, admiring the birds swooping through the trees, he was suddenly startled to see a man's face peering back at him from the woodwork. A rugged looking man in a tattered brown cloak stood at the edge of the woods, his grey eyes fixed on Liren. Upon being noticed, he beckoned behind him, and another two men emerged from deeper in the grove, one holding a spear and the other a sword. Liren's heart skipped a beat, but he forced himself to calm down. He was still so close to the monastery, there couldn't possibly be bandits here, right? Not wanting to engage further, he quickly averted his eyes and continued his walk, albeit at a bit faster pace. Before he could get much further, though, the grey-eyed man called out to him.

"Oi, lad! You wouldn't be able to help us with directions, would ya? We seem to be a bit lost," the man stated, taking a step out of the woods. Liren felt his heart sink. He hated situations like this. He couldn't possibly ignore them, it'd be too rude, and there was no one around if they got angered by it. But if they turned out to be trouble, he'd be walking right into their hands. The men were still a good 40 feet away. If he made a run for it, he might be able to make it back to the gates depending on how fast they were. There were three of them, though, and it seemed unlikely that he'd be able to outspeed all of them. He decided he'd quickly answer their question and hope for the best.

"Sure...what are you looking for?" Liren responded, hoping he'd be able to answer the question before the men reached him. He glanced around him, praying a guard would round the corner of the monastery on patrol, but there wasn't a soul in sight. As the men got closer, the dancer had a bad feeling that he'd made the wrong decision. The men's faces were covered in scars and the two beside the cloaked man wore scowls. One of the henchman was missing an eye and the other was missing a multitude of teeth.

"Ah, just looking for the entrance to the monastery," the leader stated, now just ten steps from Liren. Though he still had scars all over, this man seemed a bit more well kempt, his short, slicked back grey hair matching his graphite colored eyes.

"Er, it's right over there," Liren replied, pointing in the direction he'd come from. "Just follow the wall and you'll find it."

Not wanting to let the men get any closer and figuring he'd already answered their question, he turned and began to walk away, but the man followed up once again.

"You a student here?" he asked, a smile on his face that contrasted starkly with his lackeys' scowls. Liren nodded, now especially wary that the men were dragging the conversation on. "Ah, then you wouldn't mind answering a couple more questions for us, right?"

"I'm actually late to meet someone!" Liren lied, his instinct urging him to run. "I'm sure the guards at the gate can answer your question."

He turned and began to walk away, but this time the lackey with the spear reached out and grabbed his wrist, pulling him back to face them. The one-eyed man's grip was so tight he thought the hold might actually snap his wrist.

"I'm afraid we're gonna need some answers from _you_, lad. Y'see the guards might not want to work with us," said the cloaked man.

"What do you want?!" Liren shot back, dropping his polite demeanor and attempting to pull free from the deathgrip to no avail. The man let out a chuckle, his grey eyes giving the dancer a once over.

"Don't worry. We just need you to come back with us and help flesh out our plan to raid the monastery. With your help, we'll identify the weak points, launch our attack, take our loot, and be on our way."

"I'm not helping you with that! Let me go!" Liren exclaimed, launching a kick at the shin of the man who was holding him. To his surprise, it actually connected with force and the man's grip momentarily weakened. He wrenched his arm free and wasted no time, turning on his heel and making a break for it. He'd be running in the direction opposite of the gate, but he had no other choice.

Liren managed to make it to the next corner of the monastery and rounded it just before he felt a grip take hold of the back of his robe and yank him back. In the distance, he could see what seemed like a student jogging in his direction.

"H-help!" Liren exclaimed before getting dragged back around the corner. This time, the man with missing teeth stood behind him and brought his sword up to the dancer's throat.

"Thank you, Forb. Hold him steady while I transport us back," the grey-eyed man stated, pulling a book from beneath his cloak. As he opened it, Liren could see the runes to a teleportation spell written within. This was bad! They were going to spirit him away and no one would know what happened. He might as well risk it all here. Liren launched himself backwards with his full force, knocking Forb to the ground with him. The man's blade came within centimeters of the boy's throat, but the grey-eyed man screamed at him.

"Don't kill him! We need his intel for the boss," the man stated. Liren took advantage of the command, knowing now that the toothless man wouldn't kill him, and elbowed the lackey in the face. He rolled out of the man's grip and pulled himself to his feet before narrowly dodging out of the way of a thrust from the one-eyed man's spear. Liren now understood that though they couldn't kill him, they _could_ critically wound him. The dancer moved to dodge another strike, but Forb grabbed his heel from the ground, locking him into place. Before the spear could thrust forward, though, a figure rushed forward from behind Liren and delivered a crushing punch to the spearbearer's face. The man was sent tumbling backwards, losing his grip on the spear. Liren's eyes widened as he realized that his savior was none other than Dmitri. The boy wasn't in his usual houseleader garb, simply wearing a white shirt and blue shorts with the Lions symbol engraved into it.

"Dmitri?!" Liren exclaimed in surprise, watching as the Lion picked up the spear from the ground and stabbed it towards Forb on the ground. The lackey released his grip on Liren's ankle and rolled away defensively.

"Well, this isn't what I was expecting to find on my morning run," Dmitri stated, fending the two minions off with the spear. "Liren, you go get help, I'll hold them here."

"No, wait! He's gonna warp you away! He's trying to catch a student!" Liren exclaimed, moving closer to Dmitri in an attempt to get him to run away. The grey-eyed man, who had been muttering to himself for the duration of the fight, closed his book with a grin. All at once, a spell circle appeared underneath the five of them and it took Liren only a moment to realize that the man had completed the warping spell. He rushed towards Dmitri in an attempt to push him out of the circle, but the Lion lifted his leg and delivered a forceful kick to Liren's chest. The blow sent him hurtling backwards, landing on the grass a few feet away. As he looked up, clutching his chest from the ground, he saw that he had landed outside of the circle.

"Let my housemates know what happened. I'll be fine until then," Dmitri stated calmly from within the circle, the three thugs surrounding him to ensure he didn't escape. "Don't tell the staff unless you absolutely have to, I don't want the whole Kingdom to fall into chaos."

"No! Wait!" Liren exclaimed, pulling himself to his feet and rushing back towards the circle. All at once, the circle flashed a bright purple and in an instant, the group was gone. Liren stared at the empty ground in front of him. How had this happened?! He'd gotten a house leader kidnapped! And not just any house leader, the crown prince of the Holy Kingdom.

"No….no, no, no! Why didn't he just let them take me?! I'm not worth anything!" Liren exclaimed, panic setting in. He remembered Dmitri's instructions and immediately broke into a dash back towards the monastery gates. How would they be able to track Dmitri?! Was there a spell for that? He didn't know, but he'd find the Lion's housemates as soon as possible. Who knew what the thugs would do if they found out the person they'd captured was actually a prince. A feeling of dread set over the dancer, but he steeled himself and ran even faster.

"Dmitri is smart. And strong!" he reminded himself. "He'll be able to hold out till we find him!"

* * *

_Sorry for the hiatus! Enjoy!_


	12. Chapter 12

Liren burst through the front gates of the monastery, running as if his own life depended on it. His white robes swirled around wildly, drawing the attention of the shopkeepers who had begun to set up in the market. As he made it up the stairs to the entrance hall, he spotted Manuela speaking with another professor inside the keep. He hesitated for a moment-was it really a good idea to not tell the staff about this? Although it might bolster the search efforts, Dmitri was right that it'd raise an alarm across the country. Liren winced and decided to heed Dmitri's advice, breaking to his left to navigate around the outside of the keep and avoid Manuela.

By the time he reached the courtyard outside the dormitories, he was completely out of breath, sweat pouring from beneath his bangs. Slowing to a walk, he hesitated and wondered which Lion he should tell, then suddenly remembered he was now dating one. The dancer burst into the dormitory hall, rushing towards Sylvain's room. It was still quite early and it seemed as though everyone was still asleep. Finally arriving, he didn't even bother to knock, trying his luck with the door knob. To his surprise, it clicked open and he pushed into the room, slamming the door behind him and startling Sylvain from his sleep.

"W-wha…? Liren…?" the knight asked, looking at the person who had broken into his room groggily. After a moment, he seemed to notice the boy's disheveled state and panting. He pushed himself up to a sitting position and gazed at the dancer with concern. "What's going on? Why are you so out of breath?"

"Something bad happened! Really bad!" Liren exclaimed, pushing his sweaty bangs out of his face. "I haven't told anyone yet. Promise that you won't panic!"

Sylvain's eyes widened with concern. "You're already making me panic! What is it?!"

"I went for a walk outside of the monastery this morning and these crazy bandits attacked me!" Liren started.

"What?!" Sylvain exclaimed, his eyes instantly narrowing in anger. He lifted himself from the bed, shirtless, and pointed towards the door. "Show me where they are. I'm gonna beat them down myself."

Liren was touched by the knight's defensiveness, but he shook his head. "No, that's not even the bad part! They were about to kidnap me, but then Dmitri appeared…"

"Oh no, I hope this isn't going where I think it's going..." Sylvain replied, pulling on a shirt. Liren nodded solemnly.

"He saved me from them, but they ended up warping away with him!" the dancer exclaimed, his heart racing once again upon reminding himself of the severity of the situation.

"For God's sake! I'm so glad he saved you, but this….this isn't good. He's the crown prince of the Kingdom! And more importantly, our house leader!" Sylvain exclaimed, his unstyled orange hair falling into his face.

"I know! I'm sorry I couldn't save him...but he told me to come to the Lions because they'd know what to do!"

"Don't be sorry. We'll get him back. Anette or Ashe might be able to track him somehow. Let's go gather the troops," Sylvain directed confidently, grabbing Liren's hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze as he pulled him into the hallway. The knight cupped his free hand around his mouth before bellowing down the hall.

"Oi, Lions! Wake up! This is an emergency!"

Within moments, a door down the corridor swung open and out emerged Felix, still in his pajamas and with his hair down. Liren immediately released Sylvain's hand, earning him a side eye from the knight who obviously thought his fear of Felix silly. Moments later, two more doors opened revealing a sleepy Ashe and an annoyed looking Ingrid.

"What on earth, Sylvain? This better be damn good," the pegasus knight asserted, making her way down the hallway.

"I definitely wouldn't call it good, but let's wait for everyone to get here," Sylvian directed. Felix finally seemed to notice Liren standing at Sylvian's side and glared daggers at him, but the dancer attempted to ignore it. After another minute or two, Annette, Dedue, and finally, Mercedes, emerged from their rooms. Everyone but Dedue still wore their pajamas, and it looked as if Mercedes still had her eyes closed even while standing up.

"What's this all about?" Felix asked, his eyes falling once again on Liren. "I'm assuming it's something quite bad."

"It is….quite….bad. I need you all to stay calm once I say it," Sylvain began, before turning to Dedue. "Especially you, big guy!"

"Wait, where's Dmitri?" Ashe asked, glancing around. The others all suddenly seemed to notice the absence of their house leader, their eyes falling on Sylvain expectantly.

"Excellent observation, Ashe! Dmitri was….kidnapped," the knight stated. Before he could get another word out, the Lions exploded into worry, the sleepiness that had existed moments ago now completely eradicated.

"Kidnapped?! By who? How are we just learning about this?!" Felix exclaimed, a genuine look of panic on his usually stoic-to-condescending face.

"What?! How could he get kidnapped? What if something happens to him? We have to do something!" stated Ingrid. Mercedes nodded her agreement, her hands clutched at her chest in worry. Dedue remained silent, but simply returned to his room, returning a moment later with his axe in hand.

"Okay, okay! Did I not just say to stay calm?!" Sylvain exclaimed, trying to regain control of the situation. Liren let out a sigh, knowing he'd have to explain what happened and incur the wrath of Felix. The dancer took a step forward and recalled the story as looks of horror spread upon all of the Lions' faces minus Dedue.

"They warped away with him, but he told me that you all would know what to do!" Liren finished, looking to Sylvain to take charge once more.

"How the hell are we supposed to find him?! They could've warped anywhere! How could you let them just take him? If you'd gone with him, you could've at least worked together to get out," Felix raged, real fury in his eyes. Liren could see that though the other Lions remained silent, they didn't completely disagree with the sentiment.

"There's a way we can find him! Calm down, Felix!" Annette suddenly stated, drawing all eyes to her. "Wait here a moment!"

"You can't trace someone who got warped away with nothing to go off of. I can't believe this…" Felix stated. Sylvain looked as if he were about to speak up in Liren's defense, but Annette re-emerged from her room, a sapphire pendant swinging from her grasp.

"Dmitri gave me this to keep track of him!" she exclaimed, holding the necklace up for the group to see. "He wears an identical one that's connected from the same stone. I should be able to trace his location with some spellwork!"

"Huh?! He entrusted you with that?" Felix asked in disbelief. Annette narrowed her eyes, clutching the pendant defensively.

"Yes, Felix! You're not the only one who's close with Dmitri, y'know," she responded. Ingrid stepped between the two, silencing both.

"There's no time to waste. Annette, figure out where he is. We can't all go to get him back or it'll be too suspicious," the pegasus knight stated, running a hand through her blonde hair. "We should make a smaller party."

"I like the way you think, Ingrid. Well, I'm definitely going. Can't let anything happen to my bro," Sylvain replied, before pointing to Liren. "He's also going, cause he'll die of guilt if we leave him behind."

The knight scanned the group, seemingly deciding who else should go. After a moment, he had made up his mind.

"I think we should also take Ashe and Mercedes," Sylvain stated, pointing at the two Lions.

"What?!" Felix and Ingrid exclaimed simultaneously. The blonde girl followed up first, "How dare you try to leave me out of this!"

"There's no way you're going to be able to sneak a pegasus out past the gates without getting questioned," Sylvain responded.

"And what about me?" Felix asked, clearly offended by not being selected.

"You have sword training today! It'll be suspicious if you miss it. We don't want any questions about our whereabouts!" the knight responded before turning to Dedue. "Sorry big guy, but this seems more like an espionage mission...I'm not sure if you'd be the most stealthy."

"Ugh, I want to argue, but we don't have time to waste," Ingrid stated. She took a step towards Sylvain, looking him in the eye. "If you don't bring him back, I'm going to make you regret this choice."

"Oi, oi, Ingrid, have some faith! We'll get him," Sylvain replied. He turned to Annette. "So what exactly do we need to do?"

"It'll help me if we go to the spot where he was warped from," the mage stated, pushing a strand of her orange hair out of her face.

"Alright, let's all meet outside the front gate in 10 minutes. Go out one at a time so it looks less suspicious! Liren, Ashe, Mercedes, go grab your weapons," Sylvain directed with a smile of confidence. "Annette, we'll see you in 10!"

* * *

Liren ran back to his own dormitory building, quickly entering his room and grabbing his spear from the wall. The fact that he was grabbing it for a real mission, rather than practice, seemed surreal. Once they started this mission, the danger would be real-it was something Liren had yet to experience. Though he dreaded it, he steeled himself, knowing he had to do his best for Dmitri.

As he emerged from his room, he froze upon seeing Hilda enter the corridor. The pink-haired girl noticed him instantly, giving him a confused look after seeing the spear in his hand.

"Lirennnn! You're not going for extra practice, are you? I could never…" the girl stated, bringing her hand to her chest in disbelief. "And you never even use your spear!"

"No, it's not for practice, I just…." he hesitated as he tried to think of an excuse.

"Hmm? And it's not even a wooden, practice one!" she exclaimed, pointing at the weapon. "Why do you have that with you when we don't even have class today?"

From the other end of the corridor, he could hear the dormitory entrance door open and more voices fill the air. This was bad. Hilda would definitely draw whoever it was into it and they'd further question him.

"I'll tell you outside! Come with me!" Liren exclaimed, grabbing the girl's hand and pulling her in the opposite direction of the voices. As they exited into the fresh air, Hilda gave his arm a tug to halt him.

"Liren! What's this all about! You know you can tell me anything, right?" the Deer asked, her pink-eyes gazing into his own. He hesitated for another moment before cracking under the pressure. The dancer explained what happened and the mission ahead, begging the girl to keep it a secret.

"Umm, I'll totally keep it a secret! Cause I'm coming with!" Hilda responded perkily.

"W-wha?! No! Don't put yourself in danger for no reason! That's not even like you...it's gonna be a lot of work," Liren exclaimed, trying to dissuade her. Hilda shook her head fervently.

"I'm willing to make an exception for you! I can't let you go on a mission with no other Deer. It's dangerous! And Sylvain will be there...this is the perfect chance to see you two interact!"

Liren resisted the urge to facepalm. He wasn't sure whether Hilda was grasping the seriousness of the situation, but he didn't have time to argue-they were already late.

"Alright, alright. Hopefully Sylvain brought an extra axe that you can use," Liren responded. He broke into a jog towards the monastery gates, beckoning for the girl to follow him. "Now come on!"

* * *

_Thanks for reading! :) Plz sub/fave if you enjoyed!_


	13. Chapter 13

Liren and Hilda, unsurprisingly, were the last to arrive at the small gathering outside the monastery gates. The Lions were surprised to see the pink-haired girl, but no one resisted her presence, all aware of her skill with an axe. Wasting no time, Liren showed the group to the spot where Dmitri had been taken earlier in the day.

"Alright, thanks, Liren," Annette stated, giving the boy a smile. "I can warp you guys to the general area, but it won't be exact. And also, I have no clue what the terrain will be like. Hopefully it's not like, a volcano or something!"

"How could it possibly be at a volcano?" Felix asked with judgement. Annette crossed her arms defensively, throwing the boy a glare.

"Bad guys totally have their secret hideouts in crazy places like volcanos!" she shot back. Felix opened his mouth to retort, but Ingrid jumped in first.

"Would you two focus?! We have to find Dmitri before God knows what happens to him," she commanded, immediately silencing the pair. Sylvain nodded his agreement before scanning across the group.

"Alright, we've got our healer, tracker, dancer…" he stated, pointing at Mercedes, Ashe, and Liren, giving the Lion a special wink. He then pointed at himself with a grin. "And our muscle!"

"Ehem…" Hilda asserted, not pleased with being overlooked. Sylvain rolled his eyes, but gave her her wish.

"And our…'delicate flower'," he added, which seemed to please the Deer as a smile crossed her face. He tossed her an axe that he'd had strapped to his back, then turned to the rest of the students. "You guys hold everything down here. We should be back soon!"

Ingrid nodded her understanding, then pulled Annette to her side. "Alright, enough time has been wasted. Annette, send them on their way!"

The five students going on the mission grouped together as Annette opened her spell book and began an incantation. The girl's orange hair fluttered as magical energy wrapped itself around her and a runic pattern appeared on the ground below the group.

"Gosh Ingrid, don't be in such a hurry to get rid of-" Sylvain began before they were engulfed by the warp. Liren felt his stomach lurch-the same feeling one gets when falling from a great height-as a blinding light overtook his vision. To be honest, he had never been warped before, and he hadn't been sure what to expect. At the same time that he felt like he was falling, it felt as though a vacuum were pulling at him from every direction simultaneously. He tried to take a breath, but the air around him was non-existent. Crap, he should've taken a bigger breath before the process began. Just as he felt himself begin to panic, the sensation ended and he felt solid ground beneath his feet. Well, semi-solid. Liren dropped to his knees, completely woozy from the unexpected side-effects, but he regained his composure after a moment.

"You've gotta be kidding me," came Sylvain's voice from above him. Liren raised his head, a sweltering heat enveloping him, and let out a gasp of shock as he got a look at their surroundings.

"A v-volcano?!" he exclaimed, immediately rising to his feet. From the looks of it, the group had been teleported into the interior of some sort of magma chamber. The slab of stone they now stood on was floating atop a pool of magma that filled the cavern from wall to wall, with similar slabs floating next to theirs. Lava oozed down the walls of the cavern and the heat was overwhelming.

"Well, I guess Annette was right..." Sylvain stated, looking around in disbelief. "It's a good thing she didn't accidentally warp us straight into the lava."

"This...this is insane! And it's way too hot! I didn't wanna break a sweat on this mission, ugh!" Hilda exclaimed, helping to steady Mercedes, who seemed to still be recovering from the warp. Ashe remained silent, his eyes scanning the interior of the cavern as he looked for their next move. Beneath them, the stone slab floated unsteadily upon the lava, rocking them back and forth.

"Everyone move towards the center so you don't accidentally fall off! I don't think there's any coming back from that," Sylvain ordered.

"That's reassuring," Hilda said sarcastically, helping Mercedes to the center of the platform. Fortunately for Liren, his dancing had trained him to be well balanced, and the gentle rocking proved no problem for him. Still, the sheer heat radiating from the lava against his bare skin was painful in itself.

"Ashe...do you see a way out?" asked Mercedes, a strand of her blond hair falling into her face. "At least no one has noticed that we're here yet."

"Mmm, there's an archway over there," the archer stated, pointing to the opposite side of the cavern. Liren had to squint his eyes to make out the shadowy passage that the Lion was speaking of.

"Of course. It's ALL the way across from us," Hilda stated with a groan.

"It's fine! As long as we're careful and take our time, this shouldn't be too hard. It's what's on the other side of the passage that we should be worried about," Sylvain stated. "Now let's go before we get roasted here. Ashe, lead the way!"

The hunter nodded his understanding, then headed to the far side of the platform they stood on, looking at his possible paths. After a moment, he seemed to decide, jumping to another large slab of rock slightly in front of theirs and veering to the left. Liren could feel his heart race as he watched the boy jump over the river of lava. The gap wasn't very large, but any slip ups here would be fatal.

Hilda walked Mercedes towards the edge of the platform and Sylvain held out his hand towards Liren. The dancer knew that the knight wanted to protect him from falling, but he was sure that if it came to it, he'd be the one keeping the red-head balanced. Liren watched as Mercedes made the leap, Ashe grabbing onto her from the other side to help her away from the edge. Hilda, though she looked nervous, jumped over with no trouble as well.

"You go first," Liren ordered as he and Sylvain reached the edge. "I'm a dancer, so balance is kinda my thing. It's best for me to make sure you make it over safely!"

"Psh, this little jump? It's nothing!" Sylvain exclaimed, jumping over the gap with a smirk. Liren narrowed his eyes, worried that the knight wasn't taking the danger seriously. With a sigh, he also leapt over the gap, landing lightly on the other side. The next few jumps were similarly easy, and the group arrived at the center of the cavern unharmed. Ashe pointed at four slabs spread out in front of them that formed a path to the opening.

"We'll take those four since they look pretty stable, then we should be good!" Ashe said with a reassuring smile. Liren had yet to spend any time with Ashe or Mercedes, but from what he'd heard, the two were some of the nicest students in the whole monastery. He was grateful that everyone in this task force was kind-hearted.

"Let me show ya how it's done on this one!" Sylvain exclaimed, jumping to the next platform ahead of the others. Though it had worried him before, Liren had to admit that Sylvain's lightheartedness made the challenge they were facing a bit less daunting. Ashe and Hilda followed across the gap, but as soon as the pink-haired girl landed, a giant crack as loud as thunder filled the air. Hilda almost lost her balance, stepping dangerously backwards towards the edge, but Ashe and Sylvain grabbed the girl's arms and pulled her towards the center. Mercedes, who had covered her ears in fright, looked at Liren beside her with a worried gaze. As soon as the sound disappeared from the cavern, a horrible rumbling began, shaking the lava pool that the group stood upon and causing the platforms to ungulate wildly.

"Get back!" Ashe exclaimed to Liren and Mercedes, who still stood at the edge of the initial platform. The pair fled back to the center of the slab just as the magma rippled, rocking the platforms violently.

"Ah!" Mercedes exclaimed, losing her balance and stumbling backwards. Liren grabbed her hand, but could hardly maintain his own balance, dropping to his knees and pulling the girl down with him. The three on the other slab fared no better, being forced to the ground as well. Liren glanced at the ceiling as he held onto the healer, his eyes widening as he realized the force of the rumbling was causing loose parts of rock to dislodge and fall.

"The ceiling!" he exclaimed to the others, just as a giant piece of rock broke off and plummeted into the rock slab two pieces away from the one Sylvain, Ashe, and Hilda were on. The force of the collision shattered the platform, causing rock and lava to spray out, while also generating a huge ripple. To make things worse, the ripple caused the distance between the two groups' platforms to widen to an un-jumpable distance.

"No!" Sylvain exclaimed, trying to climb towards the edge of his platform before getting pulled back by Ashe.

"Oh no...you guys go on before the path gets crushed!" Liren exclaimed to the others, trying to steady himself.

"We can't just leave you!" Hilda exclaimed, her pink-eyes full of genuine fear. Ashe looked around the cavern rapidly, scanning for any other exits. His green eyes suddenly lit up.

"There! Up there! There's another exit!" he exclaimed, pointing at what looked like a tunnel drilled randomly into the cavern wall halfway between the lava pool and the ceiling of the chamber. Sylvain shook his head, once again trying to climb towards Liren.

"That's way too high! How could they possibly reach that?!" he responded.

"Sylvain! Get to the other side! We'll find a way! And we can't all get toasted here or Dmitri will be trapped for good!" Liren demanded, his eyes pleading with the red head. As more rocks fell, the conditions continued to become increasingly precarious, platforms breaking left and right. Ashe seemed to notice, grabbing Sylvain and Hilda and pulling them to the opposite end of the platform.

"He's right! We have to go or we'll all just get trapped here!" Ashe exclaimed, all but pushing Sylvain to the next platform. He forced Hilda to jump over as well, then followed suit.

"Liren! Mercedes!" Sylvain exclaimed, before yet another rock fell and crushed the platform they'd just been standing on.

"Go! Hurry!" Liren shouted, Mercedes nodding beside him as tears welled in her eyes. As the other three seemed to finally accept their mission and head to solid ground, the dancer turned to the blonde girl.

"We can get out of this!" he stated, trying to calm the girl down. "I have an idea! You know magic, right?"

"I-I do know some spells!" Mercedes replied, trying to regain her composure. Liren pointed at the upper tunnel that Ashe had pointed out.

"Do you think you can use a spell to launch our platform towards that?" he asked. The girl hesitated for a moment and Liren expected her to object, but instead, she nodded her head.

"I can try...but if I miss…" she began. Liren gave her an understanding nod, well aware that it'd be their doom.

"It'll be tricky, but we can do it! I believe in you!"

Mercedes bit her lip, but pushed herself to a kneeling stance. "I'm gonna use Bolganone...it should have enough force to lift us to that point!"

The healer closed her eyes and began casting as the platform continued to ungulate, rocks still falling around them. The girl finished her chant and the lava beneath the platform instantly erupted, shooting the rock into the air. The force was so great that it launched the pair from the platform, sending them hurtling through the air above the lava.

"Holy shit!" Liren could hear Sylvain exclaim from the far side of the chamber, upon seeing what was happening.

Miraculously, Mercedes' aim had an almost perfect trajectory, and the healer was launched directly into the tunnel, landing upon the ledge roughly before rolling to a halt. Liren's fortune was not so great as he collided with the bottom edge of the tunnel, the air getting knocked out of him. He grasped at the rock, but there were no good holds, and he felt himself slipping backwards off the cliff. Refusing to let it end like this, his fingers caught on the edge of the cliff and he managed to hold on as he dangled over the pool of lava below.

"Liren!" Sylvain and Hilda exclaimed in unison, the red-head looking like he was about to throw up.

"Ah! Hold on!" Mercedes exclaimed as she picked herself up from the ground and rushed over. She locked her hands around the boy's wrist and heaved with all her strength. Through a mixture of their strength, Liren was able to make it over the cliff face. The pair collapsed to the ground, heaving from the exertion and nerves.

"I can't believe...that worked…" Liren stated between breaths. "Your aim...is amazing…"

"It was all luck. The Goddess was watching over us," Mercedes replied with a relieved smile.

The dancer mustered his energy and pushed himself to his knees, peeping over the edge and waving to the trio who had made it to the other exit.

"Oh my gosh! Are you guys insane?!" Hilda exclaimed, stamping her foot angrily. Sylvain nodded his agreement and Liren could see that he was genuinely displeased.

"I'm going to make you pay for scaring me like that later, Liren!" he shouted, pointing at the dancer. "You two better not do anything that dumb again before we meet back up!"

Ashe seemed to know that the pair had had no other choice and tried to be sympathetic. "It's okay-they made it, right? Now...let's head out and look for Dmitri. Meet back here in 3 hours, even if we don't find him. We'll have to think of a way to regroup if it comes to that."

"3 hours! Got it!" Mercedes exclaimed, her mood having lifted upon reaching stable ground, though she was still breathless as well.

"And you two be careful! Don't fight unless you absolutely have to. This is honestly the worst way our party could be split...a dancer and a healer stuck together, while all the fighters are down here," Sylvain stated, shaking his head in annoyance.

"We'll be fine! Now let's go find Dmitri! Hilda, I'm depending on you to protect Sylvain for me," Liren exclaimed, giving the knight a grin. He saw the worry in Sylvain's face melt upon seeing his smile, and with that, he and Mercedes turned to head down the tunnel.

* * *

_Ahh, I'm so inconsistent with updates T_T tysm for following and your nice comments! _


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